There Can Only Be One
by greenshoes3
Summary: Picks up after 4x11. They finally find the cure but Bonnie doesn't have the power to cure them all. Elena must choose between Damon and Stefan. One will live, the other will die. She gives both a chance to prove their worth with surprising results.
1. Chapter 1

The week that followed Damon trying to kill Jeremy was one of the longest of Elena's life. Stefan 2.0—the cold and detached version of himself—refused to let Elena near the cellar though she promised over and over that she would never release him. Whether it was really fear that she would release Damon or simple pettiness, anytime she got near, Stefan blocked her path.

Although Elena truly missed the feelings of love and freedom she had while near Damon, more than anything, she missed his honesty. She and Jeremy were about to go through with one of their riskiest plans ever and she desperately wanted Damon's input and advice.

She could almost here what he'd say:

_No. Nope. Never. Not gonna happen. Put a fork in it cuz you're done. There's no way I'm letting you, a baby vamp who can't step on an ant without wanting to hold a memorial service, and the Little Hunter Who Couldn't take on an original. You've come up with a lot of terrible plans in your life but this one takes the cake._

She smiled thinking about it because she knew if push came to shove, when he realized he couldn't change her mind or lock her in the cellar, he'd come up with a plan that would actually work. Knowing Damon, he'd be the main player while she stayed in the shadows and watched but at the end of the day, they'd have a dead Original and a fully complete hunter's mark on Jeremy's arm.

Instead, she was stuck dividing her time between plotting with Jeremy and trying to sneak past Stefan.

After yet another failed attempt, Elena returned to her house trying to hold in the tears that had threatened to fall since learning she was sired to Damon. Since Damon had sent her from the lake house. Since the disastrous day in the library with Stefan. Since the man she loved tried to kill her brother. Since the other man she loved shut her out and started fucking her enemy. Since everything became too much for her to handle.

She wished her parents were here. And Jenna. And Ric. The people that she wanted to lean on had died.

Even the people she had left couldn't help.

Bonnie was, as Caroline called it, "balls deep" in expression magic.

Caroline was dealing with a grieving boyfriend, being stalked by Klaus, and trying to decide her loyalties between Elena and Stefan.

Matt was… well…. Matt. He'd be there and support her the best he could but Elena knew it wouldn't be enough.

Jeremy was her partner in crime but she knew he was still dealing with his strong vampicidal tendencies that seemed unusually focused on her. She needed someone to comfort her; not someone who might try to stake her as she cried into his shoulder.

Stefan was out of the question. Although he had saved Jeremy, he wasn't exactly a shoulder to cry on. She knew the minute she acted on her feelings for Damon she was going to hurt Stefan badly but, selfishly, she thought he would always be there for her. They had both fought so hard for their love through so many obstacles and yet they were further away than they had ever been. If she were being honest with herself, which—let's be honest—wasn't really her forte, she always thought they'd find a way back to each other. It was hard to believe their love was over.

And Damon. She would have liked to lean on Damon right now. No matter how bad things got, he was there for her. Even back when she was a human constantly denying her feelings for him and pushing him away, he was still there. Regardless of the situation, he would make a joke or check her out or do something to bring levity to the situation. That's exactly what she needed now.

Instead she was all alone.

_Alone_.

The word echoed in her head and she finally succumbed to the tears that had threatened so long. She barely made it to the couch before her knees buckled and she collapsed with body-wracking sobs.

An hour later and she had no more tears to cry but the dry sobs that followed were almost worse. She had no doubt that she could continue to cry for the rest of the night but was distracted by the buzzing of her cell phone.

As much as she wanted to ignore it and let it go to voicemail, she knew that in a town like Mystic Falls, answering a phone call could be the difference between life and death. She pulled herself together enough to answer without it being blatantly obvious she had been crying.

"Hello?"

_"Elena?"_ Caroline's voice came through the phone. _"I know we're still kind of… off because of the whole Damon-sire-bond slash marathon-group-therapy-session-with-Stefan but I really miss you."_

Elena let out a shaky breath. "Yeah, me too."

_"I shouldn't have judged about Damon. It's just, you know how I feel about him and what he did to me and I just like Stefan so much and think you guys are so good together."_ Caroline let the words out in a rush. Now that Elena had given her an opening she was going to take advantage. "_But even with my own personal feelings, it's up to you and I'm sorry. It's none of my business and I should have just been there for you. I should have just been your friend."_

Elena waited for a moment trying to decide whether Caroline was done speaking or not. She knew from years of experience that once Caroline got talking, it was next to impossible to stop her until she was good and ready to. When Caroline said nothing, seemingly waiting to see how Elena would react, Elena spoke up.

"It's ok, Care. I know you were just looking out for me in your overprotective-not-always-appreciated-way. I just wish you could have been there _for_ me rather than being there to lecture me."

_"I'm so sorry. Are we… ok… now?"_ Caroline asked hesitantly.

"Of course. Unless you stake me or steal my daylight ring I'll pretty much always forgive you," Elena said. No matter how angry she was, it was almost impossible for her to stay mad at Caroline for long. She was just so bubbly and persistent. It was like having a rainbow waved in your face; as much as you wanted to ignore it and hate it, you couldn't.

_"Great!"_ Caroline perked up instantly. _"Well, I have to go. I'm still helping Tyler deal with the whole 'mom getting killed by his evil sire' thing. But carve out a night for me soon because we are going to have a girls' night and I am going to learn how awesome Vampire Elena is."_

"I can't wait," Elena said hanging up the phone with a smile on her face.

Although she wasn't completely recovered from her earlier breakdown, the world no longer seemed like the empty void of blackness it had been earlier. She even thought about trying to talk to Damon again when Jeremy called.

"Jer, what's up? Are you gonna be home soon?"

_"Hello, dearest Elena."_ A sinister, yet mocking voice, responded. In any other context, hearing that sexy British drawl could make a girl weak in the knees but it caused Elena to go completely numb with a cold ball of fear lodged somewhere near her stomach.

"Kol?" She asked, hoping against hope she was dreaming.

_"The one and only. I'm not the only one here though. I have with me a former compatriot of mine; your lovely little brother Jeremy."_ Elena could hear him smirking through the phone.

"Why do you have Jeremy? Klaus told you to leave him alone!" Elena said in a panic, fighting the urge to vomit.

_"Yes, yes, yes. You are right. However, he apparently didn't give young Jeremy the same order to stay away from me. Imagine my surprise when I return to my home to find Jeremy digging through my belongings for the white oak stake. You wouldn't happen to know anything about that, would you?"_

"Kol," Elena pleaded. "Just let him go. Take me instead. You can do whatever you want to me. Just let him go."

Kol laughed with glee. _"Damon mentioned you had quite the martyr complex but I had no idea it was this severe. Do you have no regard for your own life?"_

"Just let Jeremy go," Elena said between gritted teeth. Her fear for Jeremy was overwhelming but the comment about Damon had been an unexpected sucker punch.

_"No. I don't believe I will,"_ Kol said with a laugh.

"No don't! If you kill him you'll have to live with the hunter's curse and—"

He cut her off. "_Not if I don't kill him directly. Whoops, I just remembered, I was never very good at remembering to feed my pets…" _He let the words hang menacingly over the phone. _"Say goodbye to your brother and your chance of getting the cure."_ Kol paused before laughing. _"I'm so sorry. That was terribly melodramatic of me. I was like the villain in a Bond movie. But in this movie, the villain wins. Dun…dun…dun"_ Kol sang mockingly before hanging up and leaving Elena stunned.


	2. Chapter 2

Three days later and Elena was frantic. Bonnie had been able to locate the house Jeremy was being held in but that was the end of their good luck. Kol had tricked a woman into inviting him in but had compelled her to invite no one else into the house.

Because basically everyone in Mystic Falls was some sort of supernatural creature or another, this presented a very real problem. The only two people who could get into the house were Matt and Bonnie, neither of whom was strong enough to take on an Original.

Hours were spent plotting in the Boarding House. They were a rag-tag band of supernatural misfits with competing loyalties and conflicting motivations but everyone knew Jeremy had to be saved. Klaus and Rebekah simply wanted the map. Caroline, Tyler, and Matt wanted to save a childhood friend after so many had already been taken from them. Bonnie wanted another chance with Jeremy after realizing that life was too short to miss opportunities. Stefan, as much as he claimed otherwise, wanted to save Jeremy for Elena's sake. He had learned the hard way that as much as you can claim to quit loving someone, it's much more difficult to actually let that love go.

They all sat in the parlor in front of the fire brainstorming ideas. Vervain, daggering, compulsion, deception, and all manner of other ideas were thrown around while Elena simply stared into the fire. Her thoughts were torn between the fear of losing the last member of her family and the almost obsessive reflections about Damon.

_Get your shit together, Elena_. She thought. _Jeremy is going to die and all you can think about is Damon showing you around the parlor the first time you met him. Damon apologizing for pissing Katherine off. Damon looking lost after Rose died. Damon promising never to leave again._

_Fuck._

Apparently trying not to think about Damon just made her think about Damon even more.

_Was this the sire bond?_ She wondered.

With great effort she turned her mind away from thoughts that made her miss him even more and forced her mind to try to think like him instead.

The first thing she knew without a doubt was that Damon would never trust Klaus and Rebekah. They had all been burned and betrayed by an Original one too many times. As much as they claimed to hate each other, the Originals were still family and no one would be surprised if they chose to save each other over all others.

Elena also knew that Damon would never allow Matt to be apart of the plan. As much as he wanted to help, Damon was right, he was a weak human. It would be a different story if Matt had either Alaric or Jeremy's eternity ring but Jeremy has his in the house and Alaric's was a part of the white oak stake.

And as concerned as Bonnie, Stefan, and Caroline were about saving innocent lives, she knew Damon would be more inclined to kill first, ask questions later. While she normally would be hesitant to kill anyone, let alone and innocent person, she knew it was Jeremy's lie on the line. Her once black and white ideas about morality were now gray and she would do whatever it took to get her brother back; regardless of what kind of monster it made her.

"Stop!" Elena shouted suddenly, bringing an end to the debate about whether or not Kol could be compelled by Klaus if weakened enough. All eyes turned to Elena in shock. Most people had forgotten she was there and all were surprised that she was actually joining the conversation.

"We have to kill the house owner," she said calmly as Bonnie, Caroline, and Matt's jaws dropped. "It's the only way to get in to save Jeremy."

"But, Elena, she's an innocent. I can't hurt an innocent," Bonnie started.

"I don't care," Elena said fiercely, waving a hand to stop Bonnie. "It's Jeremy and I don't care what I have to do or who I have to kill to save him." She looked straight into Bonnie's eyes willing her to agree. "It's Jeremy."

Bonnie's shoulders hunched in defeat. She knew her roll as a witch was to preserve the balance of nature and protect the innocents but that was so much harder to do when things became personal and lines got crossed.

"Okay," she whispered.

Jaws around the room dropped as Bonnie, the paradigm of morality, agreed to kill someone who was guilty of nothing more than inviting Kol into her home.

"Great," Klaus said, clapping his hands and rising from the couch. "I'll go take care of it. Caroline, love, would you care to accompany me?"

"No," Elena said suddenly, remembering her decision to keep Klaus and Rebekah from interfering. "Let Bonnie do it. She can make it painless."

"Elena, are you trying to suggest that I am brutal in my killing techniques? I didn't hear Carol complain when I drowned her. Although, now that I think about it, her mouth might have been too busy to fill out a complaint card."

Tyler lunged for Klaus in a fury but Klaus simply shoved him to the ground and snapped his neck easily.

"Call me when you have a plan," Klaus said before leaving as though nothing had happened.


	3. Chapter 3

_Finally, some actual D/E interaction. Sorry it took so long to get there!_

* * *

Everyone was still staring down at Tyler's body in shock when Rebekah stood up.

"Well, on that note, I think I'll be off too."

She calmly walked towards the exit before flashing over to Elena and snapping her neck too.

"What? I thought that's how we say goodbye around here now," she said innocently before flouncing out of the room.

Hours later Elena woke up in Damon's bed with a throbbing headache. Her heart melted almost immediately when she realized Stefan must have put her here. She knew it must have hurt him to bypass his own room to leave her in Damon's but she was so grateful to him for it. It made her happy to know that she wasn't wrong about Stefan. As deeply as she had hurt him, he was still the good guy who saved her life in both the literal and metaphorical way.

She smelled Damon on the sheets and her heart melted even further while another part of her body seemed to become of where exactly she was. She remembered all the things they'd done in the one night they'd had together before shit had hit the fan. There was no denying the man was a sex god. He knew how to do things with his mouth and tongue and fingers that others were not even aware were possible.

She shivered deliciously before climbing out of bed to find the others and continue their planning. She honestly wasn't even fazed that Rebekah had snapped her neck. It seemed as though it was becoming a tradition between them.

The house was strangely silent. In the time she had been dead, night had fallen and everyone had apparently gone home. She headed to Stefan's room to have an undoubtedly awkward conversation thanking him for putting her into his brother's bed but found the room empty and dark. She called out Stefan's name but her voice simply echoed back to her.

Her unbeating heart began to race as she realized she was alone. She could finally talk to Damon after so long apart. Honestly, in the time she'd known him, she had never gone this long without talking to him and the overdramatic teen in her felt as though a part of herself was missing.

She sped to the basement before anyone could stop her and her heart rose in her throat when she saw Damon in the cell. He was still covered in the blood and dirt of that terrible night but what caused Elena's heart to falter was Damon's obvious lack of strength.

His skin was pale and drawn and he was splayed on the floor in such an uncomfortable looking position that she wondered if he didn't have the strength to move.

"Damon?" she whispered. The blood surrounding him and the paleness of his skin made her wonder if he was even conscious but before she could worry too much she heard it.

"Elena? What are you doing here? You have to leave so I don't accidentally sire-bond you into letting me out," he replied faintly yet insistently.

"Hey dumbass," she called, feeling so much relief that he was conscious that she almost opened the door just to hug him. "If you were really going to sire-bond me, you would have done it already instead of trying to get me to leave."

"But Elena, it's Jeremy. We can't risk—"

She cut him off, "Jesus fucking Christ. I am so fucking sick of hearing everyone going on and on about the fucking sire bond. If you don't quit talking about it, I'm going to open this fucking door just to spite you."

"Whoa," Damon said, laughing weakly. "I have to be honest, Elena. I am impressed. I didn't think you had that particular word in your vocabulary. Did someone get up on the wrong side of the bed this morning?"

"Funny you should say that," Elena said, easily falling back into the banter her and Damon had perfected, "I didn't just wake up on the wrong side of the bed, I woke up in the wrong bed completely! Yours."

"I don't know what you're complaining about, Elena," Damon said, seeming to regain some spirit from their verbal sparring. "I'd say that is the perfect bed for you to wake up in, although next time you do it, I'd prefer to be there."

"Yeah, well, next time I do it I'd like it to be a conscious decision rather than a drop box for my body after Rebekah snaps my neck," Elena responded sarcastically.

"That fucking bitch," Damon spat vehemently trying to rise himself off the ground.

"Easy there, tiger," Elena responded. "What are you gonna do? Collapse on her? Seriously, a hummingbird could take you down right now. Plus, Rebekah is sort of on our side right now."

"Oh yeah?" Damon said skeptically. "Since when do people on the same side kill each other?"

"Why does she do anything she does? She's a raging psychotic bitch," Elena shrugged. "I'm over it. Right now we have bigger things to worry about."

Damon looked like he was about to argue when Elena held up her hand. "Shut it, or else I'm going to sic a hummingbird on you." Damon glowered at her but she wasn't in the mood to play any more games. "Kol has Jeremy and we need to get Jeremy out before he dies."

Damon's jaw dropped in surprise as Elena detailed the situation. More than an hour passed while the two of them worked on a plan. Although the plan was hardly fool-proof, Elena felt much more confident now that Damon was involved.

After whispered "I love you's" Elena left the cellar with a small smile on her face. She turned to go towards Damon's room but bumped into the rock hard wall of Stefan's chest.


	4. Chapter 4

"St-Stefan," Elena stammered. "I was—I was just—"

"Oh, I think it's pretty obvious what you were doing, Elena," Stefan said coldly. "I am a little surprised though. I would have thought Jeremy's safety meant more to you than a booty call. Oh but wait, you're _in love_ with Damon. I forgot," he sneered.

As Stefan spoke, a rage rose in Elena like she had never felt before. Before the last word had even fallen from his lips she had a tight grip around his throat with one hand while the other held him against the wall.

"Listen Stefan," she snarled, bouncing his head off the wall once. "I get that I hurt you and I'm sorry I did it but quit being a little bitch. Damon is still locked up and I'm going to save Jeremy with or without your help. Get on my team or get the hell out of my way." She bounced his head off the wall once again for good measure before walking towards the door.

"Oh, by the way," Elena tossed over her shoulder. "We're meeting here tomorrow morning at 9. Make sure you have enough coffee for all of us."

The door snapped shut before Stefan had time to pick his jaw up off the ground.

He slowly made his way over to the drink cart in the parlor and poured himself a glass of Damon's best bourbon. "Fuck you, brother," he said in a mock toast before downing the glass and pouring another. He savored this one, taking leisurely sips as he stared at the fire lost in thought. Abruptly he seemed to come to a decision and muttered, "oh hell" before making his way down to the cellar, stopping only to grab a blood bag on his way.

"Hello brother," he crooned through the bars of Damon's cell, mimicking the night so many months ago when both brothers returned to Mystic Falls. He tossed the blood to the ground next to Damon.

"You're enjoying this power trip a bit too much Steffy," Damon groaned as he tore into the blood bag and downed it in seconds, color immediately returning to his skin.

"Well, you did consciously fuck the love of my life so I think I'm entitled to whatever power trip I want."

"Stefan," Damon began seriously. "I'm not going to apologize for sleeping with her and I'm sure as hell not going to apologize for falling in love with her. I mean, you know as well as I do, it's pretty much impossible _not_ to love her."

"Wow, thanks for that heartfelt apology, dick."

"I'm not done," Damon said forcefully. "I am, however, sorry that we hurt you. I know I promised you an eternity of misery after Katherine and I also know I've done a pretty good job of living up to that promise up to and including this moment, but honestly, somewhere along the way I lost the desire to torment you. I miss you as my brother. As the way we used to be, before Katherine. I didn't want to hurt you any more and the fact that I hurt you in this way, unintentionally, almost makes the betrayal worse."

Stefan stared at Damon for a few moments as though trying to decide whether he wanted to fight him or not before his shoulders shrugged in resignation and he looked at the ground.

"No, Damon. I'm sorry. I broke up with her because I knew she had feelings for you. I knew she would act on it eventually but knowing eventually _could_ happen feels a lot differently than when eventually _actually_ happens. Plus, she doesn't even love me anymore so I have no reason to still try to claim her."

Damon laughed and Stefan's eyes darted up, ready to argue.

"Come on, Stefan. Has all that brooding messed with your mind? She's still in love with you."

"No, she's not."

"Oh so suddenly Original Barbie compels her, she says a few things that make you sad, and you're willing to forget everything you two had?" Damon scoffed disbelievingly.

"You weren't there, Damon," Stefan replied with a sad assurance. "She said she still loves me but she isn't _in love_ with me. It's basically a revised version of 'I really hope we can still be friends.'"

"That's your first problem, baby bro. You're actually _listening_ to what Elena says about her feelings."

"Damon, she was compelled to tell the truth. Those _are_ her true feelings," Stefan said dejectedly.

Damon threw back his head and laughed. "Stefan, I love that girl more than life itself but she wouldn't know her true feelings if they staked her in the heart. You think her feelings for you died just because she did? You think her feelings for me just became something because she's sired to me? No!" His voice rose as he warmed to the subject. "She was in love with me long before she died but her and her fucking morality wouldn't let her admit that she could be in love with more than one person at a time; especially when they're brothers. And now that she's finally admitted her feelings for me, she's shoved her love for you into a tiny little box, locked and hidden at the back of her heart. Face it, she's only eighteen and has already lived through a shit storm; it's not really a surprise she isn't exactly emotionally stable."

Stefan chuckled in agreement. "I suppose you and I didn't exactly help either. I mean, me with my whole 'tortured vampire with a conscience, a heart of gold, and a serious addiction to human blood' and you with your whole 'psychopath who really just wants to be loved' routine could be a little hard to handle."

"It's a wonder she didn't just give up on men altogether. Hmmm," he pretended to muse, "An Elena, Witchy, and Vampire Barbie sandwich could be pretty hot."

"Now I realize exactly what Elena sees in you," Stefan laughed.

"Don't fool yourself, brother. She just wants me for my body. Being the hot brother is such a burden. You should be glad you don't have to deal with that," Damon smirked.

Stefan laughed and was surprised to find that he felt more at ease with Damon than he had in years. Though loving the same girl had caused them immeasurable heartbreak, they were able to bond over it and for the first time in a century, Stefan felt like he and Damon actually had a chance to repair what had been broken.

"So, what did Elena come down here for?" Stefan asked.

"Oh, you know. The usual," he put on a false high voice. "'Damon, everything is going to shit and you are the only person smart enough to fix our problems. Save us, oh wise one!'"

"Did you actually come up with anything?" Stefan asked sharply.

"Look at who you're talking to," Damon said cockily.

Damon and Stefan spent the next half hour talking about and fine-tuning the plan until Stefan was sure it was as good as it was going to get. As Stefan turned to leave, Damon called him back.

"For what it's worth, I'm going to do everything in my power to find the cure. If she loves me—and I mean _really_ loves me—I gladly be with her until the end of time and I hope you can respect that. But I need it to be real. If there is any chance whatsoever that her love is a result of the sire bond or that she loves you more, I will walk away. The three of us have been through enough drama for 10 lifetimes and when we find this cure, we deserve a break from it."

"Thank you," Stefan said, truly moved by Damon's words. "I know this might be a weird time to say it, what with the impending death and constant fights over the same women but… I love you, brother."

Damon walked to the door and pulled Stefan in for an awkward hug given the dimensions of the window. "I love you too, Stefan."

They stood hugging each other the best they could for a few minutes until Damon finally pulled away.

"Enough with this emotional crap. Get off to bed, young man. You've got an Original to kill tomorrow."


	5. Chapter 5

Bright sunlight streamed into the parlor of the boarding house hinting at the beautiful day outside. If they lived normal lives they would be talking walks or going on drives or simply hanging out outside. Instead, tension was thick as the motley assortment of vampires, hybrids, witches, and the lone human listened to Stefan and Elena detail the plan to save Jeremy. Even Klaus and Rebekah who wanted the cure for completely different reasons and didn't care about Jeremy's life were tense. Everyone knew this was the best, and possibly only, chance to find the cure. When everyone knew the plan, they left the boarding house with shoulders squared and jaws set.

After the twenty-minute ride in silence, Caroline, Elena, and Tyler were waiting in the woods behind the hostage house listening for their signal.

In the meantime, Klaus and Rebekah knocked on the front door waiting for Kol to open it. Klaus and Rebekah began immediately threatening Kol with everything they had. They hurled threat after threat and made promise after promise about what they would do if he just released Jeremy. Kol simply leaned against the door jam comfortable that no one could get in the house except for him.

As this was going on, Stefan stealthily carried Bonnie and Matt (who had complained about being carried like a child) to the back door where Bonnie immediately got to work casting a silencing spell on Matt. Matt took a deep breath, praying with everything in him that the spell worked on Originals, and stepped through the unlocked back door.

Caroline and Tyler drew nervous breaths after watching Matt disappear into the house and Elena closed her eyes in pain. Over the past few years she had lost more people than she could even remember and if something were to go wrong with this plan, not only would she lose more, but it would all be her fault. Refusing to let herself drown in the sadness, she forced her mind to the task at hand.

After what seemed like hours but was really less than two minutes, Matt came out of the house carrying the old woman who he had knocked out with what Damon called "witch-approved Chloroform." As he carried her across the threshold, Stefan grabbed her quickly and snapped her neck before anyone had time to rethink their plan. Bonnie let out a shriek she barely managed to muffle behind her hands and Matt turned away in disgust. Stefan, with pain in his eyes, nodded to the three waiting in the woods before grabbing the body and blurring away.

Bonnie and Matt barely had time to take a breath before they felt three figures zooming past them into the now free house. Linking hands and leaning on each other for support, they made their way back to the vehicle waiting in the woods, both drowning in the guilt they felt for taking the life of an innocent.

Tyler, Elena, and Caroline moved quickly once the house was open to them. They knew the Klaus and Rebekah could only distract Kol for so long before he became suspicious. Caroline raced up the stairs to begin frantically searching for the White Oak stake while Elena raced down to the basement to release Jeremy. Tyler was left with the unenviable task of taking down Kol.

Kol was still leaning in the doorframe laughing at the latest threats Klaus and Rebekah had screamed at him. Klaus and Rebekah were selling their part with everything they had. They seemed truly enraged at him for ruining their plan to find the cure and were seemingly screaming at him with frustration and desperation. Kol, simply stood back and laughed believing that his safe house was impenetrable. The smile suddenly froze on his face and he looked down in shock seeing a dagger sticking out of his chest before the gray lines raced up his face and his body crumpled to the floor. Tyler stood panting, looking at the body in awe of what he had done.

"Good job, mate," Klaus said, slapping Tyler on the back.

"I'll want that dagger back, Wolf Boy," Rebekah said, barely sparing a glance to the body of her brother. "Just remember, when you pull the dagger to revive him, get out of there as quickly as possible. Once he wakes up, he might be a little peeved at you for your actions."

The Originals turned and began to walk away.

"Tell Jeremy that I will expect him at my house tomorrow morning to complete his map," Klaus threw over his shoulder.

Tyler breathed a sigh of relief as he saw them get into the car and disappear.

* * *

"Care, they're gone now," he called up the stairs.

"Good. I found the stake no problem," she said rolling her eyes. "What is it with vampires trying to hid things in plain sight? First Damon and the soap dish and now Kol with the firewood. Did Elena get Jeremy?"

"Yes," Elena panted, coming up the stairs from the basement carrying the unconscious Jeremy. "He's a lot heavier than he looks."

She could almost hear Damon laughing in her head "_Come on Buffy, you're a vampire now! You can't even lift one puny human? Good thing you're not on Stefan's bunny diet or I don't think you'd be able to get out of bed in the morning_"

She pushed those thoughts aside and looked at Tyler. "Are you sure you're alright?"

"Why wouldn't he be?" Caroline asked, suddenly nervous and looking all over Tyler for signs of an injury.

"Yeah, Elena, I'm fine," he said before turning to Caroline. "Ok, Care, before you freak out, just remember that I'm fine. Nothing happened to me."

"Tyler, you're scaring me," Caroline laughed nervously.

"Well," Elena said, stepping in to explain. "Remember how we learned that a vampire can't dagger an Original or they'd die?"

Caroline nodded her head and looked between her friend and her boyfriend.

"Well," Tyler began slowly, "We weren't really sure whether being a hybrid would make a difference or not…" he trailed off nervously, waiting for Caroline's response.

"You mean you didn't know if you'd die or not?!" Caroline shrieked in anger. "How could you do that to me?" She looked accusingly at Elena. "How could you let him do this?"

"Shhh, Caroline, I'm fine. It's fine," Tyler said soothingly, grabbing her and gently running his hands through her hair. "I didn't want to lie to you but it had to be done. And I'm fine."

Caroline calmed slightly before punching Tyler with everything she had. With her already amplified vampire strength combined with the anger surging through her, Tyler went flying all the way through the wall behind him.

"Don't you ever do that again, jackass," she said before rushing over to help him stand up.

Elena looked on, slightly nervous as to what Caroline would do to her but, to her relief, she saw most of the rage dissipate from Caroline's body.

"Ok, let's get on with it," Caroline said determinedly.

Tyler grabbed a roll of duct tape from the bag they had brought with them and securely taped the White Oak stake to his hand. The trio spent the next half an hour attempting to drop Jeremy's arm onto Kol's body hard enough that stake would penetrate his heart. They began to get more and more desperate as each attempt failed. They knew that he had to be killed by the force of Jeremy alone or the mark would not grow but they hadn't anticipated Jeremy being unconscious. Just as Caroline suggested throwing Jeremy down the stairs on top of Kol's body, Jeremy began to stir slightly.

"Jer!" Elena exclaimed joyfully.

"Elena?" Jeremy answered in confusion. His eyes were unfocused, his breathing labored, and skin sickly pale.

"What's going on?" he asked after seeing the stake roughly taped to his hand.

"We'll explain everything and get you something to eat but first you have to stab Kol," Elena urged gently.

"Kol? Where is he? I'm too weak, Elena. I won't be able to fight him."

"We already took care of it, bro," Tyler said, pointing to Kol's daggered body.

"All you have to do is stab, Jer," Elena added.

They carried him over to Kol's body and Jeremy looked down with determination. Using the little strength he had left, he forced the stake through Kol. Kol's body went up in flames leaving behind only the dagger and the stake and Jeremy passed out on the ground in exhaustion.

* * *

Hours later, everyone was gathered in the boarding house with the exception of Klaus and Rebekah who had not be filled in on the whole plan. Not knowing how the siblings would feel about killing Kol in actuality, they had been fed the idea that Kol would only be daggered and would be brought back after everything was settled. They were under the impression that, for the time being, Kol's body was being kept in the vampire-free Bennett house.

The group gathered in the living room was mainly silent, thinking over the events of the day. No one wanted to say it but everyone was simultaneously proud and disgusted with the lengths they had gone to to save one of their own. The fact that they had killed an innocent for their own personal gain did not sit well with anyone and each was silently questioning whether they had crossed some line that they could never turn back from.

"Well, well, well. You crazy kids finally managed to follow through on a plan without anyone dying. I am just so proud," a snarky voice behind Elena said.

Elena turned and her eyes locked with Damon who standing in the doorway leaning casually against the doorframe.

Time froze.

The earth stopped turning.

Everything else faded into nothingness.

Elena hated herself for thinking those things because it made her the whiny, overly emotional, stupid teenager she had always tried not to be. But she couldn't help it.

She felt like she had been living in a Claritin commercial where everything was faded and blurry until Damon walked in and made things clear.

Before she was even aware of these thoughts or could think about the implications of them, she found her feet moving towards him as he started moving towards her at the same time.

Their arms pulled each other into a fierce embrace as their lips crashed on each other's with the kind of passion that speaks of fate and destiny. They forgot where they were, why they were there, and who they were with. It simply didn't matter because they had each other.

Though their relationship was common knowledge to the group assembled, none, other than Jeremy, had seen it in action. Shock was the only expression visible on everyone's face as Elena wound one of her hands into Damon's hair while curling the other into the collar of his shirt and visibly deepened the kiss. Damon moaned low in his throat and ran his hands down Elena's side to her hips to pull her closer to him. It was obvious to everyone present that they were completely in sync with each other. Each movement of one was echoed effortlessly by a movement of the other until they pulled away simultaneously to rest their foreheads against each other. Without a word or a glance to anyone else, they joined hands and went from the room leaving everyone else in a stunned silence.

"Epic." Caroline whispered to herself, too low for anyone else to hear.


	6. Chapter 6

Damon and Elena left the room and wordlessly got into Damon's waiting Camaro. Words were not needed. All they needed was to be away from prying eyes and judgmental stares. They needed to go somewhere where they could simply be Damon and Elena. Where they could simply be.

Damon parked in front of the Gilbert's house and walked around the car to grab Elena's hand. They walked up the steps hand in hand but when Elena went to open the door, Damon gently tugged her hand so they were standing face to face on the porch.

"What are you doing, Damon?" Elena questioned.

"This is our spot, Elena." Damon answered, looking around at the familiar porch. "This is the place I first started to feel again. When I staked Vicki and removed Jeremy's memories. Even though I didn't want to admit it, I did it for you. Because you made me feel."

A small smile crept onto Elena's face as he continued.

"This is the spot where I kissed Katherine, thinking it was you. I should have known it wasn't you. Now, knowing what a kiss from you really is, I can say that the kiss with Katherine pales in comparison."

Damon reached up to brush a strand of hair behind Elena's ear.

"This is the spot where, after I killed Jeremy, you told me I had lost you forever. And the same spot where I realized that even if you never forgave me, I had to spend the rest of my life trying to be the kind of man you deserve."

A single tear ran down Elena's face and Damon's thumb gently brushed it away.

"This is the spot where we kissed for the first time. I mean a real kiss. Not one I forced on you. Not one you gave me as a goodbye. It was _our_ first kiss. And it was the single most life changing event in my life because, for the first time, I caught myself believing that _we_ could become something that transcends love. Something that transcends soul mates. Something that is infinitely _more_ and, more importantly, something that is infinitely _real_."

"Damon," Elena started, almost at a loss for words from the beauty of his declaration. "That was so beautiful."

"Yeah, well, I had a lot of time to write a speech while I was locked in the dungeon," Damon said with a smirk back on his face.

Elena laughed and playfully punched his shoulder. "You always know how to ruin a moment, Salvatore."

He winked at her before bending down slightly to bring their faces level, his blue eyes searching hers, willing her to believe his words. "I meant every word."

Elena gasped at the intensity of his eyes before he brought his lips to hers in a searing kiss. Lips moved together in harmony and fingers twisted gently in hair. Damon brought a hand to gently brush her cheek before angling her head slightly and deepening the kiss. His tongue sought hers as the moved together; reveling in the familiarity of the motions after their long separation.

As one of Elena's hands wound tightly into his hair, holding him tightly to her, her other hand caressed down the side of his face and neck setting Damon's skin on fire. It continued on down his chest as she reveled in the feeling of his lean, hard muscles gently flexing beneath her fingers. When her fingers threatened to travel even lower, Damon grabbed her hand and pulled away from her leaving her breathless, disoriented, and more than a little angry.

"What the hell, Damon?" she spat at him. "Don't you dare try to pull that fucking sire bond shit on me right now."

Damon laughed gently before grabbing her hips roughly and pulling her into him. He ground his hips against her and Elena's eyelids fluttered in pleasure.

"I wasn't going to say anything about the 'fucking sire bond,' as you so elegantly called it. I was just going to suggest that, as much as I love our spot, perhaps we should move this little grope-fest inside so Mr. Wellington doesn't have a heart attack."

Damon gestured with his eyes over to where Elena's elderly neighbor, a man who had watched her grow up since she was a baby, was now staring open mouthed at the porch where just seconds ago Elena had been grinding on her much older boyfriend while attempting to undress him.

Elena had been sure it wasn't possible for vampires to blush but at that minute she was sure her face was embarrassingly red.

"Good evening, Mr. Wellington," she said with her eyes firmly planted on the ground. The old man simply shook his head and continued his slow walk down the sidewalk.

Mortified, Elena quickly opened the door and pulled Damon inside. Before she could say anything, Damon burst out laughing.

Elena was shocked. Had she ever heard Damon Salvatore actually laugh? Sure, she'd heard him chuckle or laugh sarcastically but she had never seen him actually let loose and laugh with the abandon he was now.

_God damnit_, she thought. _Just when I thought he couldn't get more perfect_.

Unable to help herself, both because of the hilarity of the situation and the contagious nature of Damon's laughter, Elena joined in. Soon, however, the sounds of laughter turned into moans of pleasure and harshly groaned expletives as Damon and Elena finished (more than a few times) what they had started on the porch.

* * *

At the Salvatore boarding house, the others were trying to pretend as though what they had seen between Damon and Elena wasn't shocking and went back to plotting about how to find the cure and kill the Originals. As they were leaning over the table in the parlor studying various documents, Jeremy jerked up suddenly in surprise and fear as he began to feel lines being drawn across his body.

The others, not knowing what was happening to him, looked at him in confusion and concern. Jeremy tore his shirt open and looked down at his chest which was now completely covered in the map.

"It's complete," a voice said from the doorway.


	7. Chapter 7

With a gasp they turned to see Rebekah standing in the open doorway looking like some frightening ancient goddess.

"I don't know what you children are trying to pull but I'm sure it ends with me either being dagger or staked."

When no one said anything Rebekah laughed bitterly.

"Yeah, well, fuck you too," she said before heading over to the drink cart to pour herself a healthy dose of Damon's best bourbon. Turning back to face them, she said in a light voice that belied the threat of her words, "Just know, you will fail and when you do, I will kill each and every one of you… with pleasure." She looked each of them in the eye so they could see the truth of her words before she continued. "However, I am willing to cut a deal with you. I want the cure. I want to be human. I want to experience everything that goes with being human," she cut a quick glance to Matt. "I will help you find the cure and I will help you take Niklaus down."

Everyone looked at her with shock, too stunned to speak. The same thoughts went through each of their minds:

_Was Rebekah, the girl who had betrayed them all on more than one occasion, really going to help them? Would the girl who more than anything wanted her family back together help them kill one of her siblings? Could they trust her?_

Matt regained the power of speech first and addressed Rebekah the way no one else present would have dared to do. "Why now? Why should we trust you after everything you've done to make us miserable?"

Rebekah looked at him in silence for a moment before talking more quietly and earnestly than anyone had ever heard her. "Because I have lived for over 1,000 years and all I have ever been is alone. I've watched everyone I've ever met live, love, then die and I've continued to walk the earth like a ghost." Her eyes never left Matt's. "The only family I have left has chosen himself over me time and time again. That's not family and that's not love. All Niklaus does is hurt people and he has hurt me time and time again. Even though I've done many terrible things in my existence, a lot of them to the people in this room, I still deserve more than this. I deserve to have love and have life. I deserve to have a family who I love and who loves me. I deserve all the joy, laughter, and hope that comes with being human. I deserve the sorrow, fear, pain, and death that comes with it too. I just want that. Please. Let me have that."

The last sentence caught in her throat as a sob threatened to break loose and, if she had been able to look anywhere other than at Matt, she would have noticed that her eyes were not the only ones with tears in them.

After a long pause that felt like an eternity to Rebekah, Matt, still looking in her eyes, said to the group assembled. "I trust her."

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but I do too," Caroline said, shaking her head in disbelief.

"Me too," Elena said from the doorway where her and Damon had entered unnoticed during Rebekah's speech.

"Whoa. Time out here," Damon said, looking around the room as though everyone had lost their minds. "Haven't we learned by now that working with an Original only ever ends up terribly? No offense, Barbie Klaus," Damon looked at Rebekah dismissively, "but fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Fool me repeatedly, take my day light ring because I've clearly lost my mind."

"Damon," Elena said as she placed a soothing hand on his shoulder. Noticing the gesture, Stefan looked away pointedly. "Everyone here has been given a second chance—"

"Hell, Damon, you've had multiple second chances," Caroline said, earning a glare from Damon.

"I think Rebekah deserves one too," Elena finished. "Plus, we need all the help we can get." Elena and Damon glared at each other for a few minutes each trying to win with sheer will until Damon's shoulders finally slumped in defeat.

"Damn you and those damn doe eyes," he muttered under his breath before turning to Rebekah. "Fine. You're in. But if I hear even the slightest whisper of you backstabbing us, I'll be stabbing you in the back… with the white oak stake."

"Deal. So where does the map lead?" Rebekah said joyfully, turning back to the group.

"I don't really know yet but I think we should all get some sleep and work on it tomorrow morning. It's been a long day." Bonnie said.

* * *

Later that evening, Damon and Elena were lying in Damon's bed content to just be with each other. They faced each other in the dark as Damon let his fingers gently trace along her skin. The touches weren't sensual or arousing but were instead about comfort and trust. He wasn't expecting or even wanting the gentle caresses to lead to something more; simply touching her in this way was enough for him.

Sighing contentedly, Elena reached her own hand up to brush the hair off his face and trace the lines of his jaw and neck. "Damon," she began hesitantly, "at the risk of ruining this moment, can I ask you something?"

"Do you want to know whether or not I'll take the cure?" Damon asked, refusing to meet her eyes.

"How do you know I was going to ask that?" she said in wonderment, shifting to see him better.

He chuckled low in his throat and she felt the vibrations move through her as he moved and brushed a kiss along her forehead. "When are you going to realize I know you better than you know yourself?" After a few moments, the smile slid from his face and his eyes became more serious. "I don't know, Elena. I know you want me to tell you that I'll take the cure and go back to being human. We can get married and have kids and grandkids and grow old and die. And honestly, that sounds great to me. But…" he paused as though looking for the right words, "This is my life now. I haven't been human for almost 200 years. I don't remember what it's like to have to breathe to survive. To feel pain and not heal immediately. To be vulnerable to stupid things like colds and viruses."

He shook his head sadly. "I don't know how to be human."

Elena cupped his face and looked at him adoringly, "I can teach you."

"What if you leave me? What if the sire bond is the only reason you want me now? What if you realize I'm not enough for you?" He asked with sheer vulnerability shining from his eyes.

Her heart nearly broke realizing that so many of his feelings of inadequacy had been brought on by her. She had hurt him time and time again and even now she couldn't give him the reassurance that he needed; that he deserved.

"Listen," she said, steeling her resolve and looking deep into his eyes. "I can't make promises about the future. I wish I could tell you it will all be ok. But you know as well as I do that nothing is guaranteed. You and I never lie to each other and I'm not going to start now. Things might change. We might grow apart. We might realize we're not as compatible as we thought we were. We might—God forbid—find out that my feelings are a result of the sire bond. We can't know that. And as much as I want you take the risk and become human with me, I won't force you to do something you don't want to do. You have to do what's best for you."

She rolled away from him before he could see the tears begin to gather in her eyes. "But just so you know," she continued. "You deserve everything you want and more. I'm sorry for all the times I made you feel that that wasn't true."

Both lost in their own thoughts, Damon and Elena fell into a restless sleep, lying next to each other on the bed but feeling a distance grow unwillingly between them.

Outside the door, Stefan sat with a strange look on his face. Through the despair he felt at knowing the love of his life had chosen his brother, a small flicker of hope began to grow in his heart.


	8. Chapter 8

Less than 24 hours later and "the sad rejects of the Scooby gang," as Damon deemed them, were sitting on a private plane that had been "procured" by Rebekah.

Though Damon and Elena were sitting in adjoining seats, there was an obvious distance, both physical and metaphorical, between them.

Stefan looked at them from across the plane and tried to keep his smile to himself. He knew they were all remembering the moment earlier at the boarding house; the one Stefan assumed was only the beginning of the end.

* * *

_Damon and Elena had both tossed and turned in bed for the majority of the night. Though they each knew the other was awake, they kept themselves in silence. The shadow of impending morality hung over their heads._

_As much as Damon truly loved Elena, what he had told her the evening before was true: he didn't know how to be human anymore, and what's more, he wasn't even sure he wanted to try._

_Elena, on the other hand, was kept awake with a small sense of betrayal. She had never questioned Damon's love for her. In the past year of craziness, his love had been her one constant. But if he wasn't willing to become human to live their life together, what did that mean? Did he not love her the way she thought he did? Was she not enough?_

_They had descended the stairs in silence to find everyone else already assembled in the parlor._

_"So, have you guys all thought what you would do with the cure?" Stefan asked in a chipper voice. It was an innocent enough question but when Damon met his eyes he saw the glimmer of an evil plan in them._

_Before anyone could respond, Bonnie shook her head and said, "No, you guys don't have a choice. If we feed the cure to Klaus, even if we don't kill him, you will all die within an hour."_

_"What?" Damon said incredulously._

_"When he is given the cure, the vampire part of him will die meaning that the blood that runs through him that is a part of all of you will die too. Even though Klaus will now be a human, Klaus the vampire will be dead meaning all vampires descended from him will be dead too."_

_"What?" Damon said again, waving his arms furiously. "Didn't you think it might be a good idea to share that information with all of us BEFORE we got into this mess?"_

_"Why does it matter?" Bonnie asked, looking at Damon with supreme indifference._

_"Maybe because some of us DON'T WANT TO BE HUMAN!" Damon raged at her._

_In the silence that followed his eyes were drawn to Elena where he could already see the beginning of tears in her eyes._

_"So it looks like you made your choice then," Elena said softly before turning away and heading back up the stairs._

_Stefan made a move to follow her but Damon quickly grabbed him by the throat and threw him across the room saying, "Don't even think about it, brother" before following Elena upstairs._

_"Elena," he whispered into her ear when he found her crying in the bathroom. "I know this isn't what you wanted to hear and I'm sorry. I know we have a lot to work out, and we WILL work it out, but for now, we need to go downstairs, put smiles on our faces, and find this damn cure. Can we do that?" he asked, cupping her face gently._

_She nodded and wiped her tears, bracing herself to face everyone in the parlor._

_"I do love you, you know," Damon said, kissing her temple revertly._

_"I know," she said before disentangling herself from his arms and walking down to the waiting people below._

* * *

Stefan, frankly was surprised that Damon and Elena were even sitting together on the plane. He assumed Damon must have managed to sweet talk Elena enough to convince her of his good intentions. _Or maybe he had just used the sire bond_, Stefan mused.

It wasn't really that Stefan wanted Damon to be unhappy. On the contrary, he thought after everything Damon had been through, he deserved someone to love him and make him happy. He just couldn't believe that that person was Elena. He knew the two of them had always had an intense physical connection.

_Hell, I'd have to be blind to miss that_.

But he had always assumed that it was more lust than anything, at least on Elena's side. In fact, he almost thought that them being together now was a good thing. She could work her lust for Damon out before she realized it wasn't enough. Then she would open her eyes and see that true love had been standing in front of her the whole time. Her and Stefan could pick up where they'd left off before his stint as a ripper and they could help Damon find someone to make him happy.

Stefan wasn't even sure of Damon's love for Elena. He knew Damon loved her to the best of his abilities but Stefan had never understood how far that went. Yes, Damon was willing to sacrifice himself and others just too keep Elena alive, regardless of the consequences, but to Stefan, that wasn't love. As Stefan saw it, Damon had placed Elena on a pedestal; he saw her as a perfect, unattainable goal. Damon strove to be good enough for her but half of Damon's love, at least in Stefan's mind, came from the journey of trying to earn it.

He was sure that after being together for a while, Damon would grow sick of the normalcy of a relationship. After all, he had never been in a functional one. He had spent his human life trying to win Katherine from Stefan and had spent the next 160 years trying to find Katherine. Everything he had done for love had been part of the journey but he had never gotten to the end point; he had never gotten the girl. Now that he had Elena, Stefan was sure the novelty would wear off and he'd fine another quest to go on; another girl to pursue.

_It is really only a matter of time_, he thought.

* * *

The plane finally landed on Prince Edward Island where they would need to hop onto a boat to take them to the nearby island that held the cure.

"I always wanted to come up here," Elena whispered to Damon as the stepped of the plane and everyone else went to grab their baggage and find the rental car.

"Really? Why's that? I didn't think you liked the cold, although you do look adorable all bundled up," Damon said, reaching out to squeeze her ass lightly.

Elena knew Damon was trying to return to their regularly scheduled banter to ease the tension that existed from their stressful morning and she appreciated the effort. "Hands to yourself!" she said playfully as she darted away. "No, when I was little my mom read me _Anne of Green Gables_ and she lived here so I always wanted to visit and pretend to be her!"

"_Anne of Green Gables_?" Damon said thoughtfully. "Isn't that that book about that scrawny ginger orphan?" Elena nodded. "And you wanted to be her?" Damon asked incredulously. "That will not be a book we read to our children."

"Oh yeah? What kind of books are you gonna read them then? _50 Shades of_—" Elena stopped suddenly just now registering the words Damon had said. "Our children?"

"Elena," Damon began earnestly, "I know I fucked up. I fucked up big time. But if this human life is the life I'm destined to have, I want to have it with you. I always thought we'd spend eternity being forever young and beautiful. Running all over the place fucking and feeding and having a grand old time. But instead, we're gonna get old and ugly and fat, well, you'll get ugly and fat at least," he said with a smirk. "But we'll be together and that's all that matters."

"I don't know if I can ever believe you," she said hesitatingly. "A part of me is always going to think you are just saying this now because you know you have no choice but to become human."

"And I don't know how to make that doubt go away. I wish I could. I wish I could take back every time I've hurt you. But I can't. All I can tell you now is that I would rather have one short, sweet human lifetime with you than 10,000 lifetimes without you."

"Come on, you two!" Caroline shouted from a waiting vehicle. "The cure's not going to find itself!"

"She's way too excited about this," Damon said, shaking his head and grabbing Elena's hand to lead her to the car.

"You know how she is. She's never happy unless she's got something to organize, someone to help, or the world to save," Elena laughed, nudging Damon in the ribs.

Damon smiled down at her as he opened the car door for her, "Let's go get human."


	9. Chapter 9

The boat chugged slowly closer to the island. They didn't know exactly what it was but the closer they got to the island the more negative the energy seemed to become. Giant, ancient trees loomed before them casting an oppressive shadow over them as the boat pulled closer to the shore.

"This is so creepy," Caroline whispered, voicing the thoughts of everyone in the group.

"That crazy old man sure isn't helping either," Damon said sarcastically gesturing to the toothless local who had volunteered to take them across the water. In response, the old man grinned at them as his eyes seemed to bug out of his head.

They climbed out of the boat and arranged for the man to come back from them in 3 days, hoping that would be enough time to accomplish their mission. As the boat pulled away from the shore, the group was hit with an overwhelming sense of doom. They were finally here. All of their recent plotting and planning had lead to this moment. The weight of the moment as well as the isolation of their location settled heavily on their shoulders.

"Lead on, Google Maps," Damon said to Jeremy, trying to bring humor to the situation.

"Come on, Jer. Take off your shirt. I'll read the map," Bonnie said.

"'Read the map?' Is that what kids are calling it these days?" Damon joked.

"Damn," Rebekah said as Jeremy stripped his shirt off. "I didn't know Little Gilbert was this ripped. I wouldn't mind 'reading his map' when you're done, witch."

Bonnie just rolled her eyes and stared intently at the lines on Jeremy's arm. "This way," she said before leading off into the woods.

They walked deeper and deeper into the woods towards the heart of the island in complete silence. Every so often Bonnie would stop to decipher Jeremy's tattoo and adjust their course accordingly but for the most part they trudged in silence.

As the sun began to set Matt suggested they set up camp for the night before continuing in the morning.

Despite all odds, as they sat around the fire a sense of camaraderie settled on them. As odd as it was to say, the rag-tag group of supernatural misfits had become family. Every relative and parental figure of Elena and Jeremy's had died. Bonnie's mother had abandoned her more than once and her father barely had a place in her life. Caroline's father had died tragically while her mother was too busy to be her mother. Tyler's mother, father, and uncle had all died as a result of the supernatural around Mystic Falls. Matt's mother and father were long gone and his sister had died tragically. Stefan and Damon had lost every person that tied them to their human life. Rebekah had been betrayed by each member of her family over and over. All they had left was each other. Despite the conflicting interests, intense love triangles, and lingering trust issues, they were a family.

As the fire began to flicker lower, Damon rose from his seat and volunteered to get more wood. Instantly, Elena leapt up to join him gently grabbing his hand before they disappeared into the darkness together.

Stefan followed them sadly with his eyes until Caroline grabbed his hand and squeezed it in support.

* * *

Damon and Elena walked deeper and deeper into the woods. Any time Elena bent to collect sticks, Damon would grab her hand and pull her along saying "not here." When she looked at him quizzically he pointed to his ears then pointed back in the direction of the camp. When Damon determined they had made it far enough to be out of earshot, he leaned down and began collecting sticks and dry pieces of wood. Elena bent down to help but before she could Damon shrieked in agony.

Forgetting every vampiric instinct that told her to check her surroundings and assess the danger, Elena flew to Damon's side to see if he was ok. She looked him up and down in confusion; his flawless skin as flawless as ever. Not even a single hair on his head was out of place. Still, Damon was swearing like a drunken sailor. More worried than ever, Elena cupped Damon's check and begged him "what's wrong, Damon? What happened?"

Damon continued cursing unintelligibly for a few seconds before Elena was able to make out the words "mother fucking splinter." Elena stepped back from him trying desperately to contain the grin that was about to split across her face.

"You got a splinter?" she asked, her voice shaking with barely contained laughter. "I've seen you tortured and mangled and on your death bed and you barely blinked yet you have a little sliver and you're yelling loud enough to wake the dead?" By the time she got the end of the sentence she had dissolved into a fit of giggles with tears of laughter running down her face.

"Vampire plus wood equals pain, Elena," Damon said, pretending to be angry. Secretly, however, he thought he would take a thousand stakes if he could hear Elena laugh like that.

"Oh, I'm so sorry. Is the little piece of wood in little Damon uncomfortable?" Elena said with mirth as though she were talking to a child.

"I'll show you a piece of wood although it won't be 'uncomfortable' and it sure as hell won't be 'little,'" Damon said mischievously before he grabbed her and pushed her against a nearby tree.

Their mouths met fiercely as their ever-present, barely-concealed, never-sated sexual tension boiled to the surface. To any outside observer they were nothing more than blurs as clothing began to fall on the forest floor as though out of nowhere. To Damon and Elena, it was fierce, passionate, and carnal as they couldn't be parted any longer.

Damon grabbed her by the legs and threw her legs around his hips before she had time to blink. In another second Elena had Damon tightly by his hair as she pulled his head back fiercely to have access to his jaw and neck. She kissed, suckled, and bit while Damon held her, paralyzed by the awe-inspiring knowledge that the straight-laced, good-girl Elena Gilbert was now a sexy dominatrix intent on having her way with him. The realization that _he_ inspired this new side of her cause his already hard cock to twitch in anticipation. In his 170-plus years of existence, he couldn't remember having ever been as turned on as he was now.

Feeling his physical reaction to what she was doing made Elena chuckle throatily against his collarbone giving Damon the split second he needed to regain control. He grabbed her hair tightly and pulled it hard until he had unrestricted access the delicate skin of her neck. With his other hand, he grabbed her waist tightly and began grinding their hips together creating just enough friction to relieve some of their frustration but continue to build up anticipation. With her head held back, all Elena could do was pant and moan and simply take in the pleasure he was giving her. As Damon felt her primal responses to his touches, he moaned loudly against her throat causing Elena to chuckle and mutter (the best she could since she was currently more focused on being ravished than speaking) "Now I know why you wanted us to get out of earshot."

"Stick with me, kid. I'll show you things you've never even imagined," Damon whispered huskily. Elena was ridiculously turned on by the joking yet incredibly sexy way he said those words.

"Oh, Damon, I'm gonna make you scream," she whispered coquettishly as she grabbed his dick firmly in hand before positioning it so she could slid herself down onto him. He gasped taken aback by her boldness and Elena took advantage of the situation by crashing her open mouth onto his and pushing her tongue into his mouth. Their mouths slashed across each others and tongues fought, dodged, caressed, and danced together in perfect rhythm with the thrusts of their lower bodies.

Elena used the strength of her legs, which were wrapped so tightly around Damon that he doubted he could pry them off if he wanted to (not that he would ever want to, of course), and her hands on his shoulders to help force herself up and down on him roughly. With both of his hands grasped firmly on her hips, he aided in her movements as he felt them get closer and closer to the edge.

Damon had been with a lot of women in his long existence and he prided himself on his control. With a regular woman, he could give her two or three orgasms before he finally came (you didn't become a legendary sex god by being a selfish lover, after all) but with Elena, he felt himself ready blow from the start.

Thankfully, Elena seemed to be having the same problem as him as he could hear her breath catch in her throat. Both could feel how close the other was as their movements became more frantic. Just as Damon felt himself ready to let go, Elena broke their kiss and bit down roughly on his neck. The minute her fangs pierced his skin, he came, screaming her name and thrusting into her with abandon. Elena was simultaneously inundated with the taste of his blood and the feel of his cum as he shot it deep inside her, throwing her over the edge with him.

She pulled her mouth away from his neck as the vampire visage fell from her face. They stared into each other's eyes, neither moving, as they tried to regain composure. When they felt their breathing return to a normal rate and Elena decided her legs would probably be steady enough to walk on, the finally pulled away from each other and Damon set her on the ground where they both began gathering clothes and redressing.

As Elena pulled her shirt over her head, she looked at Damon devilishly, "I told you I would make you scream."

Damon tossed her a roguish wink and said, "You can make me scream like that any time you want."

"I'm gonna hold you to that, Splinter-Boy," she said as she started walking back towards the camp.

Damon laughed and threw his arm over her shoulders, drawing her in close, "Let's get you back to the Mystery Machine, Daphne."

"Where's the wood?" Jeremy asked when they got back to the camp. Elena blushed and Damon looked at her with a smirk.


	10. Chapter 10

"Ugh I feel like I'm on Survivor or something," Caroline complained as they trudged further and further into the woods.

Damon stage whispered to Caroline, "Wanna form an alliance? We can vote Steffy off at the next tribal council"

"Now is not the time," Stefan said seriously.

"Don't take offense, little bro," Damon joked as he ruffled Stefan's hair jovially, "but you are," he paused for dramatic effect, "the weakest link."

"Wrong show, dick," Jeremy said walking backwards to better join in the conversation.

Damon made a buzzing noise before schooling his features into a mock serious face, "We were looking for 'asshole' not 'dick,' I'm sorry Little Gilbert but you will not be America's Next Top Model."

"And I suppose you think it would be you, don't you?" Rebekah said.

"Don't worry, Barbie Klaus, I know you think I'm gorgeous and you're only rude to me to hide your feelings. If that's what you need to fix your broken heart... Ow!" He shouted, massaging his ribs where Elena had elbowed him only moments before. "That actually hurts now that you're a vampire."

"It's kind of funny if you think about it," Matt said. "You've had sex with every girl here" he paused, "Actually, you've had sex with pretty much every girl I know..."

Awkward did not even begin to describe the mood as everyone shifted around and refrained from meeting each other's eyes. Now that Matt had pointed it out, it was a little disturbing to see how many different pairings had been forged amongst members of the group.

"We really are an incestuous little group, aren't we," Damon said merrily.

"Speak for yourself, manwhore. I never slept with you," Bonnie said over her shoulder.

"Not for lack of trying. If I had a dollar for every time you've hit on this hot body-"

"You'd have even less money than you have class, and that's saying something."

"Damn, she showed you," Tyler said as the rest of the group laughed.

"Stop" Bonnie said stopping so suddenly that Jeremy ran into her with a loud "oomph" "Do you hear that?"

"Hear what?" Damon said, body instantly tensing, senses on high alert.

"The whispering. You guys can't hear it?" Bonnie asked the surrounding vampires.

"Nothing," Elena said, straining her new senses as far as they could go.

"Jeremy, let me see the map," Bonnie said suddenly tense. Jeremy stepped forward so Bonnie could better look at the markings covering his body as the vampires looked around nervously. Seemingly without conscious thought, Rebekah positioned herself in front of Matt, the lone human, to protect him from whatever unknown entities were waiting for them.

"Well that can't be right," Bonnie muttered to herself, gazing at Jeremy's body with a bemused expression on her face.

"Wanna share, witchy?" Damon said testily.

"According to the map, we're here," Bonnie said, looking around.

"Where's 'here'?" Stefan asked looking around as though the answer to his question would be magically revealed to him.

"The cure," Bonnie replied simply.

"But we're in the middle of the forest. There's nothing here," Elena said with a hint of panic creeping into her voice. Damon reached over and gently squeezed her shoulders in a show of solidarity.

"What does this mean?" Rebekah asked sharply. "Is the map wrong? Did someone already get the cure? Is it a myth?" By the time she finished there were tears in her eyes and desperation in her voice. Surprisingly, Matt reached for her hand before giving it a simple, quick squeeze and letting it go with a sad smile on his face.

"No, it has to be here," Jeremy said forcefully. "If it wasn't the map wouldn't have led us here and Bonnie wouldn't be able to hear those voices. Bonnie, what's the cure supposed to be?"

"Uh…" Bonnie started hesitantly.

"Oh great," Damon mumbled. "Ok troops, spread out and look around."

"Look for what?" Tyler asked.

"I don't know, Wolf-boy. Anything. Anything that seems out of place or like it doesn't belong in the middle of this forest. Rub the two brain cells you have together and use some common sense."

Tyler shot Damon a filthy look before spreading out with Caroline to search the nearby area while the rest of the group did the same. Barely a minute had passed before Matt's voice sounded from somewhere in the tears.

"I think… I mean… I don't know but I think I found it," Matt said with hesitant joy.

Stefan was the first one to reach Matt who was standing bent over a single blood red rose.

"Do you think this is it?" Matt looked up questioning Stefan with his eyes.

"I don't know," Stefan said in awe, looking down at the delicate thing that could change the course of his future. As if drawn by an invisible force, he reached out carefully to touch one of the petals before drawing his hand back in with a yelp of pain and the smell of singed flesh.

"Well, I'd say there's something not normal about that flower," Damon quipped as he walked up behind Stefan. "What's say we let the adults handle this one, huh Stef? Witchy, your services are needed."

Bonnie reached out for the flower with trembling hands. When her hand brushed along the petals, everyone let out a collective breath of relief that she was able to touch it.

"So… now that we found it, what are we supposed to do with it?" Caroline voiced.

Everyone's eyes shot around to each other noticing that everyone else seemed to be at a loss too. They had focused so hard on finding the cure that they had never thought passed that moment. They now realized with a sickening feeling that though they had the cure, they still had no idea how it worked or what to do with it.

"Well fuck me," Damon muttered in frustration.

"I don't know what you're so upset about," Stefan spat out bitterly. "You never wanted the cure in the first place. You love being this monster. And you love that Elena is sired to you. And you love that I'm miserable. Don't act like you care, Damon. Don't act like you know what it's like for those of us with a conscience and a heart."

Elena rushed between the two of them in an attempt to stop the fight she could tell was coming from the clenching of Stefan's fists to the twitching of Damon's jaw.

"Go ahead, Stefan," Damon said with ice in his voice. "Say all the things you've been dying to say about how miserable I've made your life. Keep complaining about all I've took from you. Keep pretending to be the saint. The _good_ brother," he spat angrily. "Just remember, she. Chose. Me."

"No! She chose me that night. ME! The only reason she wants your pathetic ass is because she is sired to you. Do you think she would have wanted you otherwise? No. Without out that bond, all she feels for you is pity. How does that feel, brother? The closest thing you ever get to true love is true pity. I feel _sorry_ for you. Because we both know that SHE CHOSE ME," he finished with a scream of rage.

Before Damon could react, there was a sickening snap followed by Stefan's body hitting the ground. Rebekah stood over him before looking at Elena, "Good God, do you have an magic vagina or something? How on earth do you get all these men to go absolutely crazy over you?"

Elena ignored her and turned to catch the utter pain that shone brightly in his eyes. She knew better than anyone the kind of insecurities Damon had about their relationship and she knew that Stefan's words had ripped open the sensitive flesh of those insecurities. Before she could say anything, however, Jeremy's gasp caused all eyes to turn to him.

"Something's happening to Bonnie," he whispered as he looked deep into Bonnie's completely white eyes. Her body went rigid as her lips began to move furiously. Her eyes shifted abruptly to pure black before returning quickly to white, then back to her normal brown.

"I know how to use the cure," she said.


	11. Chapter 11

"Should we wait for Stefan to wake up?" Caroline asked, peering down at the weirdly contorted body of her friend.

"No, we can fill him in later. Let's just hear it now," Damon said decisively.

"Damon's right," Rebekah agreed. "I'm not waiting any longer. What do we need, witch?"

Bonnie glared at her once before beginning to speak. "While Damon and Stefan were fighting I suddenly felt something come over me. Almost like when Emily Bennett was possessing me so long ago. All of a sudden I could hear all these voices in my head. They were the voices of the witches who created the cure to keep the balance. They knew there would be vampires like Klaus who wanted the cure to destroy it so they made it so that no vampire could touch it, which is why it burned Stefan. Only a witch descended from the original witches could get."

"You're descended from the original witch?" Elena asked in wonder.

"Apparently. Anyway, they told me how to use the cure. A petal of this rose must be placed over the heart of the vampire and then staked while I recite a spell. They'll die and then wake up as a human the next day."

"Is that it?" Damon asked. He and Rebekah exchanged glances of disbelief that it could be so easy.

"Not exactly," Bonnie began. "Apparently the process of your rebirth as a human will be extraordinarily painful. It's nature's way of punishing you for being abominations."

"How bad?" Caroline questioned.

"Bad enough that you will long for death." Bonnie replied solemnly.

"Yeah, but who cares?" Damon asked. "It's not like we're not going to come back. So what? We suffer terrible shit for a day but then *bam* we're all back to weak, heart beating, food eating mortals. Look at the bigger picture, Barbie."

"Damon, I don't think you understand how the other side works," Bonnie began. "Time has no meaning. Yes, you'll be dead for a human day here on earth but over there… there's no telling how long it will take. You'll each have to atone for your sins in the most excruciating way possible. It could feel like centuries, millennia even, especially considering all the evils in your past. All that time spent in pain."

Damon blanched; he knew that he would have hell to pay for his crimes. Looking over at Elena, however, he was reminded what it was all for. He would have a chance to grow old with her and live the life she had always wanted. She deserved this. He would do this for her.

He squared his shoulders, clenched his jaw, and looked directly at Bonnie. "Try it on me first."

"What? Why do you get to go first?" Rebekah pouted.

Damon looked at her seriously. "We have no idea whether this is actually going to work or not. For all we know, it could be a trick of the witches to get us 'abominations' to stake ourselves. I'm not about to let anyone else try it before we know whether it's the real deal or not."

Elena ran to hug him, pulling him in tight and begging him not to sacrifice himself. The others looked at him in awe. The arrogant, selfish, evil vampire they all thought they knew so well had completely turned the tables. The selfless side of him that only Elena knew existed was on display for the whole world. Tyler and Matt looked on him with grudging respect while Caroline and Rebekah were forced to look back on their interactions with him in a new light. He had undoubtedly treated them terribly but in this moment, he was completely open and exposed and they knew they could forgive him for his past. Bonnie, too, looked with confusion as everything she thought she knew about him had changed. Elena had told her about Damon's good deeds and selflessness but Bonnie had always assumed these had been done to garner Elena's favor rather than out of an actual desire to do good. Now, however, there was no denying the truth. Damon was sacrificing himself not only for Elena but for all of the others too with no hope of reward. No matter how much she thought she hated Damon, a few tears of gratitude escaped her eyes at his gesture.

Jeremy spoke, however, and ruined the mood. "I don't know if that's a good idea." When all eyes turned to him in confusion he continued, "Think about it, we still have to take Klaus down. Do you really think we can just walk up to him and say 'hey, do you mind lying down with this rose petal on your chest so we can stake you and end your reign of terror?' I don't really see that going over well. I think, as of right now, we need everyone, or at least the strongest of us, to stay vampire so we at least have a shot."

Damon nodded with begrudging respect. "Look at you, Little Gilbert! When did you become the brains of this operation?"

"I'll do it," Tyler said suddenly stepping forward. "I want to kill Klaus more than anything. If we need to test it out on someone, test it on me."

"Tyler! You can't do that! What if something goes wrong?" Caroline said frantically, rushing to his side.

"Care, I'm doing this for you. For us. We have to know if it works before heading back to face Klaus. Let me do this," Tyler said with determination.

Caroline stepped away from Tyler into Elena's waiting arms. They both looked on in terror as Tyler laid himself out on the ground.

"Wait, Wolf-boy," Damon said suddenly. "You should take off your shirt. No reason to ruin a perfectly good shirt with an unsightly staking hole."

Tyler peeled his shirt off before giving it to Damon. "Thank you, Tyler," Damon said seriously.

"You called me Tyler!" Tyler said in shock.

"Yeah, well, there's a first time for everything," Damon replied lightly. "Go hurry up and die so we can make it a reoccurring thing."

Tyler stuck out his hand to Damon who looked down on it with surprise for a moment before holding out his own. They shook firmly before Tyler let go and spread himself on the ground. Bonnie gently placed the rose petal over Tyler's heart and grabbed the stake Jeremy handed to her. She cast nervous eyes around at the group watching with horrible fascination before looking down at Tyler.

"I'm sorry," she whispered as she plunged the stake through his heart.


	12. Chapter 12

They set up camp around Tyler's body for the night, anxiously waiting for something—anything—to happen. Caroline never left Tyler's side, holding his hand, brushing his hair away from his way, whispering soothing words.

The others watched wishing there was something they could do or someway they could comfort her. They all knew, however, nothing they said could make it any better. Everything would hinge on whether he woke up the next morning or not.

The mood around the fire was somber as everyone sat, lost in their own thoughts. They were pulled from these thoughts when Stefan woke with a startled gasp. He cast his eyes around in a panic before finally landing on Tyler, lying exposed with a stake protruding from his heart.

"What happened? What's going on? What happened to Tyler?" Stefan asked in a rush.

Damon's eyes turned to ice as he was reminded of the cruel words he and Stefan had hurled at each other just hours before. "Someone fill him in," he said coldly before he got up and disappeared into the night.

Elena made a move to follow him before Matt grabbed her hand and whispered gently, "He needs to be alone right now. Just let him have his space."

Elena sighed with resignation before settling back in to listen as the others filled Stefan in on the moments he missed after Rebekah snapped his neck.

* * *

At some point during the night, they all managed to fall into a light, if somewhat troubled, sleep. All except Caroline who never gave up her vigil next to Tyler's body. Around 3 AM she thought she felt his hand jerk in hers spasmodically. Her heart began pounding faster and faster with a mixture of fear and excitement. After long moments, when she didn't feel anything again, she decided she must have conjured up the movement in her mind. No sooner did she reach this conclusion when his hand jerked again. She shrieked in excitement causing the others to wake quickly. As the rushed over to the body, they too shared Caroline's excitement in seeing his arm twitch.

Suddenly a bloodcurdling cry of agony echoed through the forest. Tyler's body twisted and contorted in ways that defied the laws of physics. His eyes opened to show nothing but blood red and tears of blood began to leak down his face. His body continued to spasmodically jerk and clench and cry after cry of pain poured from his mouth.

The jubilant looks that had been on his friends faces after seeing his initial movements slid quickly in to shocked looks of horror and disgust. Sobs wrenched Caroline's body as she stared down at him, no longer holding his hand because his body was jerking too violently to allow it. Elena and Bonnie wrapped her in their arms and provided what little comfort they could.

"This is a good thing," Elena started. "We know it's working. He's not just a corpse. His body is re-transitioning. It's a good thing."

"Yeah, Caroline," Bonnie joined. "The pain is short lived. He'll be fine in a few more hours. We just have to get through this hard time."

Caroline continued to sob without letting up and Bonnie and Elena gave up on their attempts to placate her. Instead, they just held her, giving her the only support they could.

Hours later and Tyler's constant movements began to slow. His body was now completely covered in blood as he had begun sweating it out of every pore earlier. Suddenly, his movements ceased completely and all eyes looked on him with concern. Was this supposed to happen? Had something gone wrong? What if his body couldn't handle the re-transition?

Suddenly, as sound filled the ears of the surrounding vampires. It was so loud and so unexpected that it took a moment for the realization to dawn through their shock.

Another heartbeat could be heard echoing in the forest.

Damon realized first what it meant and rushed to Tyler's body where he felt at Tyler's neck for a pulse. Underneath his probing fingers, he could feel a weak, unsteady beat slowly get stronger and more rhythmic. He looked up with wild eyes and whispered more to himself than the group: "It worked."

At his words, Tyler's eyes slowly fluttered open and widened in surprise as he saw Damon crouched over him.

"I should have let you go first, man," he said weakly.

Damon gave a relieved laughed and reached down to help him up, "That's what you get for trying to play the hero. Good to have you back, Tyler."

Any other words that would have been said between the two were cut off as a shriek louder than Tyler's cries of pain had been echoed around the trees. Before Tyler knew what hit him, he had been flattened back to the ground by Caroline who had rushed at him in joy, completely forgetting her superhuman speed and strength.

"Ouch, Care," Tyler whined. "I'm not a hybrid anymore and this fragile human body can't handle your rough treatment anymore!"

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry," Caroline mumbled over and over as she lifted his body effortlessly from the ground and peppered his bloody face with kisses.

"You know, you're really starting to emasculate me," Tyler joked before meeting her lips with his own for a quick kiss.

Before the couple could have any thoughts of a real reunion, however, they were besieged with everyone else wanting to hug and touch and talk to Tyler.

* * *

Later, sitting around the campfire eating a last meal before heading back to Mystic Falls, Tyler recounted his journey through the other side.

"It was weird," he began. "I felt the stake go through my heart. I knew everything that was happening but I couldn't stop it. Then, it was like the minute the flower petal hit my heart, it felt like it exploded into a billion pieces. A billion pieces of glass or knives or something unbearably sharp. And they were all in my heart. Then it was like my heart started pumping because the tiny knives spread out slowly through my body, cutting and destroying everything in their way until the reached every last blood vessel in my body. It felt like there was nothing left inside my body any more, only blood and pain.

"And then it felt like fire raced through my body. You know that feeling from when you were little and you'd accidently burn yourself with a firework on the Fourth of July? And you thought you were dying because it hurt so bad? That's what it felt like all over my body. Burning everywhere. Burning forever. And then, all of a sudden the flames hit my brain and it hurt worse than anything I could imagine. It was like it was being compressed and stretched at the same time. Stabbed and burned. Shredded. And then it all went black.

"And for a minute, I thought it was fine; I thought it was over. I assumed I went through the worst of it but it was just the beginning. It's like, all the stuff I had to go through before was just child's play. I think that first stuff was just the introduction. Like what you had to do to get to the other side. And then I was finally in the other side and that's when the worst happened. I don't really know how to describe it. It's like I was me, but I was also watching myself. And I had to watch myself be tortured for hours. Sometimes it was like someone was cutting off little bits and pieces of me with a rusty saw. Sometimes it was like someone was taking a baseball bat to every bone in my body over and over and over. Sometimes it was like someone had a branding iron and was forcing the red hot metal into my skin as deep as it could go. Sometimes it felt like there was something inside of me that was clawing its way out of my body. Sometimes it felt like that all at once.

"And then it started playing on my fears. It took every horrible moment in my life and made me watch them all at once. It took every painful feeling I've ever had and forced them on me all at once until everything inside hurt so bad I just wanted to give up. It drove me to the point of suicide but every time I tried to kill myself, I would just come back and have to go through it all over again. I guess since I didn't really exist over there, I couldn't really die.

"It felt like I had been there for a hundred years when all of a sudden I felt a door open in my mind. I know that doesn't make sense. Like, how could something open in your mind? But there was one and I opened it and crawled through and then the pain was gone. And I could feel my body again. And ice raced through my entire body all meeting at my heart. And my heart was frozen solid. It couldn't beat even though it wanted to so badly that I felt like I was suffocating. I don't know exactly what happened next but I just kept thinking that it had to pump; that it had to pump so I could live. And out of nowhere, it was like the ice shattered away from it and my heart started to beat again and I needed to breath. And that's when I knew I was alive."

Tyler finished his story and looked up from the flames for the first time since he had started talking. The faces that looked back at him were full of fear, revulsion, shock, pity, and a little bit of hope. Though they knew from Bonnie that the re-transition would be painful, Tyler's version of the story had left them more terrified than ever.

Finally Damon spoke, hoping to diffuse the tension with his trademark flippancy, "Well that doesn't sound so bad. I don't know what you're complaining about, Wolf-boy."

Nervous chuckles sounded hesitantly around the campfire before everyone joined in. The laughter, which had started as a response to Damon's comment soon turned into the near-hysterical release of stress and fear that their last days had brought them.

When the laughter had died down, they headed back to the beach, eager to return to Mystic Falls. No one knew what awaited them or how their plan would work out but for the first time in a long time, they actually had hope.

Bringing up the rear was Damon and Elena. Damon's hand swooped out to tangle with Elena's and he pulled her close and whispered in her ear, "Are you ready for our last great adventure?"

"What's that supposed to mean? We can't have adventures when we're human? You gonna ditch me when you're not a vampire anymore?" Elena tried to reply jokingly.

Damon half-smiled back and met her eyes. Though it was unsaid between them, both were aware that the days of the sire bond were coming to an end.

After taking the cure, everything would change.


	13. Chapter 13

The plane ride home was spent plotting how best to kill Klaus. The problem lay in the fact that Klaus's death would signal the death of all the vampires he had sired. It was unclear, however, whether Klaus's death would come with him being staked or with him reawakening as a human. For this reason, the timeline was murky at best.

Elena wanted to wait until Klaus was dead for everyone to take the cure, Stefan and Damon insisted that she take the cure before hand.

"We've lived long lives, Elena," Stefan explained patiently. "If Klaus's death brings our death, it's fine because we've lived. You, however, have just started living. If something goes wrong when Klaus is killed, at least you will have the chance to live." Damon, who had not said two words to Stefan since their fight in the woods, nodded once to signify he agreed.

"Caroline too," Damon said looking at the blonde who not long ago had hated him with a passion. "That's why, when we get back, you both will take the cure immediately and then hide out in Bonnie's house until the coast is clear. Bonnie, you should call your mother too. Make sure she's back in Mystic Falls so we don't have to wait to get her the cure. She can take it when Caroline and Elena do just to make sure nothing goes wrong."

Bonnie looked at Damon in shock. Since when was he the one who cared about others? It was always Stefan who was worried about collateral damage and other people while Damon went full steam ahead without worrying about the consequences. Yet here he was, not only thinking about Caroline but also worrying about someone as insignificant to him as her mother. She shook her head to clear her thoughts and quietly said "Thanks Damon" before going to the back of the plane to make the call.

Stefan looked on the scene with barely contained fury. _How is it_, he thought_, that one moment of kindness erases everyone's memories? Don't they remember the terrible things he's done? He killed Bonnie's mom, for fucks sake, but she's looking at him as though he were a saint! What about all the good I've done? How is that being eclipsed by my brother? He doesn't deserve it. I do deserve it. I deserve her. At least when she's human again the bond will be broken and things can go back to the way they were._

The thoughts swirled in Stefan's head giving him some measure of comfort even as Elena looked up at Damon with eyes brimming full of love and adoration.

_Just a few more hours_.

* * *

The minute the plane landed, they headed to Bonnie's house where her mother was waiting at the doorstep.

"Let's get this show on the road," Caroline said with mock enthusiasm.

"Just a second," Damon said to the group at large. "I just need to talk with Elena for a moment. We'll be right back." He grabbed her arm and drug her out the range of vampire ears. Stefan moved to follow, assuming Damon would try to persuade her to pick him after she was human but Bonnie stepped in front of him.

"Just let them have this moment, Stefan," she pleaded gently.

"Since when are you Team Damon?" Stefan replied bitterly.

"I'm not. I'm Team Elena," she responded simply.

* * *

Outside, Damon clasped Elena's hand and quickly brushed his lips over hers.

"Why do I feel like you're saying goodbye?" Elena said with tears forming.

"It's not 'goodbye.' And it's not my way of trying to persuade you to pick me—"

"I know you would never do that!" Elena interrupted.

"Shhh just hear me out. I want you to know that this time with us has meant everything to me. At the risk of sounding like my sappy, less attractive brother, I just wanted you to know that this is the first time I remember being truly happy since I was a human. And it was all because of you."

"Damon, I'm happy t—"

"Hang on. Just please let me finish," Damon pleaded. "When you wake up as a human, I want you to do whatever your heart desires, ok? Don't stick with me out of some misguided sense of loyalty or a desire to prove it wasn't all the sire bond. In the end, that will hurt us both more. You said the other day that you and I don't lie to each other so let's not start now. Yes, I would be absolutely devastated if you choose to go back to my brother after all of this, just like I'm sure he'd be devastated if you choose to stay with me. But more than anything, I want you to be happy whether that's with me, my bro, Elijah, Matt, or some random stranger. It's not going to be an easy decision especially knowing that no matter what someone is going to be hurt but you have to make it; for all of our sakes."

Elena wiped a tear from her eye and tried to turn the mood to the jovial one she normally had with Damon. "Oh yeah?" she questioned teasingly, "and what if you don't even want me once you're human? Have you thought about that, smart guy?"

Damon refused to take the bait and looked into her eyes before saying seriously, "Elena, I wanted you before I even knew you. There has to be a reason I've been on this earth for two centuries and the only reason that makes any sense to me is you. Vampire, human, or dead, it doesn't matter because I'll always love you."

He leaned down to kiss her gently before opening her mouth with his forceful lips to give his tongue access. Again, he marveled at how perfectly they fit together. It seemed as thought they were made to do nothing other than be with each other; that it was their single purpose in life. As she pulled her lips away from his to catch her breath, he whispered raggedly into her ear, "Just in case that's our last one."

He grabbed her hand and led her back to Bonnie's house where Bonnie was waiting in the threshold with a stake in her hand.

Elena walked through the door while Damon stopped at the threshold having never been invited into Bonnie's home. Bonnie, noticing this, moved to the door and began, "Damon, would you like to—"

"No, Sabrina, that's alright. A vampire safe house only works if it's safe from vampires. You've already invited enough in," Damon said.

"I can't believe I'm saying this, Damon, but I trust you," Bonnie replied.

"Well then, trust me on this. I'll stay out here. Plus, I don't think I could stand to see you put a stake in heart, even if it is for a good cause," Damon said with a lopsided grin.

Bonnie simply looked at him as though she couldn't believe that this was Damon Salvatore. How could he be this good, kind, thoughtful (albeit still snarky) man when he had been such an evil beast when he first came to town? She shook her head and moved to close the door before she heard Damon say, "please call me when she wakes up."

"Sure," she said, closing the door and heading to the basement.

* * *

In the meantime, Stefan had grabbed Elena by the hand and forced her upstairs to Bonnie's room.

"I know you aren't going to like what I have to say because of the sire bond—"

"Shut up about the sire bond. I never want to hear you say those fucking words again," Elena shot back angrily.

"Ok, ok," Stefan backtracked, "I know you're not going to like what I have to say because of your… _feelings_ for Damon." He said "feelings" as if he wanted to put air quotes around them. "I just need you to know that I love you. I loved the human you and I loved the vampire you and I can't wait to love the human you again."

He quickly grabbed her by the face and brought her in for a quick kiss. Only a month before this, a kiss from Stefan would have been welcomed and reciprocated. Now, however, Elena hissed angrily and pushed Stefan off of her.

"That's the difference between you and Damon," she said furiously. "You love parts of me. He loves all of me. Now excuse me but I would rather be staked in the heart than continue this conversation. Literally. We can talk when I wake up."

She left Stefan standing in Bonnie's room with a forlorn expression on his face. What would he do if he couldn't win back Elena's heart?

* * *

The next morning Bonnie sat in the basement after the longest night of her life. The spell to cure vampires was draining and doing three in one night left her exhausted. Even though she was nearing her physical limits, however, she wouldn't allow herself to sleep and instead sat up watching as her mother and her two best friends went through the most agonizing night of their lives.

One by one the girls woke up; first Abby, then Caroline, and a few minutes later Elena.

Elena woke up gasping for breath trying desperately to banish the nightmare from her mind. Tears streamed down her face and her heartbeat frantically as though trying to make up for all the beats it had missed. The hellish picture Tyler had painted was nothing compared to the reality of her journey on the other side. Elena didn't know pain could be that acute; that torture could be so intense; that loss could feel so crippling. How had Tyler managed to talk about it so soon afterwards? Elena wanted to curl up in a ball until she could convince herself it was all just a bad dream.

Caroline crouched down in front of her and held her body close. They clutched at each other in silence both reliving the torture while Bonnie and Abby sobbed into each other's shoulders. After their tearful reunions, Abby went to get something to eat while Caroline went upstairs to be reunited with Tyler.

When it was just Elena and Bonnie left in the room, Elena asked the question that had been on her mind since she had revived.

"Where's Stefan and Damon?"

Bonnie's eyes dropped and she looked guiltily up at Elena.

"What? What is it Bonnie? What aren't you saying?" Elena question with rising panic.

Bonnie took a deep breath and said slowly.

"There isn't enough of the cure for both of them. We can only save one."


	14. Chapter 14

Elena looked at Bonnie in shock. Her mouth opened and closed a few times before she managed to force out a weak "What?"

"There are only 3 rose petals left. Klaus. Rebekah. And one Salvatore," Bonnie said quietly.

_One Salvatore._

_One._

_Salvatore._

_One Salvatore_.

Elena ran the two words over and over in her head trying to make sense of this nightmare. Desperately Elena latched onto the only hope she could.

_Rebekah._

"What about Rebekah?" she asked. "What if we cure Damon AND Stefan and not Rebekah?"

"Elena, really?" Bonnie asked. "After everything, don't you think she deserves this?"

"Yes, yes of course she does," Elena said, nearly hysterical. "But so do Stefan and Damon. Are we just supposed to let one of them die? Which one? How do we decided? It has to be Rebekah."

"No," a steady voice said from the top of the stairs.

The girls whipped their heads around to see Matt strolling down the stairs with purpose.

"No," he said again. "Rebekah gets the cure."

"But Stefan and Da—" Elena began.

"I don't give a shit about Stefan or Damon," Matt said fiercely. "They've brought nothing but pain, suffering, and death here. I know they're not all bad because I've seen the good in both of them. But Rebekah isn't all-bad either. She deserves this shot too. And we promised her. I promised her."

"But—" Elena began again.

"No. That's it," Matt said angrily. "The Elena Gilbert I knew would never betray someone that way. I know it sucks to choose between the Salvatore's but you have to do it. I won't let you betray Rebekah."

"I agree," Bonnie said quietly from behind Elena.

Elena turned back to face her and the tears began to fall. "What are we going to do?" she asked helplessly.

"You have to choose," Bonnie said as gently as she could.

"What? Choose? Why me?" Elena panicked.

"Because they've both been willing to die to make you happy since day one. Today, one of them is going to have to live up to that promise. And only you know who will make you happiest. The rest of us can't make this decision for you. I know it's not the ideal situation—"

"Ideal situation?" Elena shrieked incredulously. "I have to choose between the two men I love not only breaking all three of our hearts in the process but whoever I don't choose is going to die. To make it even more twisted, I'm essentially going to be hand picking the brother of the man I chose for death. This is the most fucked up situation I've ever heard of. What am I going to do?" she added as hot tears of desperation and fear tracked down her face.

"I think you have to tell them," Matt said from the shadow where he had been standing after making the plea for Rebekah's life.

* * *

An hour later Elena, Stefan, and Damon were gathered in the parlor of the boarding house. Both brothers were tense; eyeing each other apprehensively assuming this meeting was about which man Elena would choose. When Elena sat across from them and informed them of the newest development, she couldn't help the fresh tears that fell as she watched the emotions of fear, resentment, anger, denial, hope, and love flicker across their faces.

"Do you know who you're going to pick?" Damon asked hesitantly. Elena noticed since she had arrived at the boarding house, he had refused to meet her eyes, afraid he would already see rejection in them now that she was human. At that realization, Elena's heart broke a little more for him; the poor man who had done everything for love but had never been given anything in return.

"No, I don't know. And I honestly don't know how I'm going to choose," Elena said helplessly.

"I have a suggestion," Stefan said from the couch where he had sat motionless since discovering his fate. "Give us each a day. A day to try to win your affections; to prove which of us is the man you can't live without. At the end of that time, you can make your decision. Neither Damon nor I will hate you for whichever choice you make and we promise to abide by your decision. I am, as I'm sure my brother is also, willing to die to make you happy," he said gallantly.

The chivalrous way Stefan said that flashed Elena back to when she had been an ordinary teenager falling madly, hopelessly in love with a mysterious white knight.

"Damon?" she asked looking over to see Damon with his brows furrowed starring intently at the bourbon in his glass.

"Works for me," he said with practiced nonchalance. "But not a full day. Two hours tops." When Stefan looked ready to argue, Damon held up a hand to silence him. "Yes, yes, I'm sure you already have visions of sugar plums and grand romantic gestures dancing around in that overly styled head of yours but our main priority has to be Klaus. The only thing we've got going for us at this point is the element of surprise but the longer we fuck around trying to prove our love, the better chance he has of finding out and killing us. And then it won't matter who showed her the best day. No," he said decisively. "Two hours is what you get. And your time starts now." He rose from the couch and began walking to the door.

"What? Why do I have to go first? I need time to prepare!" Stefan pouted.

"Again, Stefan," Damon replied condescendingly, "Bigger picture. We need to kill Klaus and we're in a bit of a time bind. I'm going to go meet with Bonnie and Rebekah to get everything planned while you woo this lovely maiden," he said with a formal bow he exaggerated to ridiculous proportions that brought a smile to Elena's face even in the midst of this somber situation. "Be back here in two hours," he said before closing the door and leaving Stefan and Elena alone.

"Two hours, huh?" Stefan said thoughtfully to himself. Without warning he reached down and pulled Elena's body to him as he blurred through the town.

* * *

He took her to all of the places where they had lived their lives together. He showed her all the places where they had cemented their love and become the kind of couple that could weather any storm. When they arrived back at the boarding house, he gazed into her eyes and pushed her hair behind her ear gently; just like he used to do.

"What I showed you today? That's us, Elena. That's who we are and why I know we can make it. Through everything we've been through, every obstacle we've faced, every demon we've killed, it's always been you and me," he said earnestly. "We have a love that comes so naturally and so easy that it can't possibly be wrong. No matter how hard everything else is, you and I are easy. You and I are all that make sense."

Elena's heart fluttered madly both at the beautiful words he spoke and the beautiful memories he reminded her of. When he leaned in to kiss her deeply, she didn't fight it, rather stood there ready for it. A moment before their lips could touch, they heard the door open and Damon walked in.

"Break it up, kids. It's my turn."


	15. Chapter 15

_Before you read this chapter, just know the story isn't over yet and it may not end the way this chapter suggests it does_

* * *

Elena's time with Stefan left her emotionally drained and more confused than ever. She knew the upcoming time with Damon would only make it worse. As she turned to look at him in the entry way, Stefan blurred away to give them their 2 hours. All too soon she felt tears threatening to fall again. She didn't know how it was possible for her body to physically cry this much but it seemed that it's all she'd done in the past few days.

"Mind if I join this pity party?" Damon asked, sauntering into the parlor without a care in the world.

"Damon!" She said with happiness. Even while stuck in this no-win situation, seeing him walk through the door as though it were just a regular day was calming.

"Hey." He gave her a quick hug before looking at her deeply, silently begging her with his eyes to start the conversation they both knew they had to have.

Elena took a deep breath, squared her shoulders and looked into those incredible blue eyes. "So, what do you have planned for me? Why should I pick you over Stefan?"

"Don't." Damon said easily.

"I have to, Damon. And I'm so sorry but I have to do it."

"No. You misunderstand me, Elena." He cupped her face and looked deep into her eyes like he had done countless times before. "I'm telling you don't pick me over Stefan."

"Stop it, Damon," Elena said shakily. "If this is about some misplaced sense of guilt or you not deserving it as much as him or something like that—"

He cut her off. "No, Elena its not that. Please believe me. God knows both Stefan and I have done terrible things. I don't know how anyone could begin to judge who was worse or who deserves more than the other. I want you to save Stefan because this is something I can give to you."

Elena opened her mouth but again Damon stopped her. "You've been put through more than anyone should ever have to deal with. Hell, _I've_ put you through more than anyone should have to deal with. Add everything else to it and it's a miracle you're still functioning. And now you're being forced to make the hardest choice you'll ever have. We both know that as much as this is a way for you to save the life of someone you love, it also means taking away the life of someone else you love."

Damon paused and looked even more deeply into her eyes. "No one should have to make that choice; especially not someone as truly good as you. So I'm going to make the choice for you. Choose Stefan. Let him show you how much he can love you. Because for me, loving you is enough. The simple act of getting to be in love with you is more than I've ever deserved."

Damon drew in a shaky breath and for the first time Elena realized he wasn't as calm and collected as she thought. Through the shock of what he was saying, she felt her heart break for him all over again.

"I know you hate the fact that you fell in love with both of us. I know you think it makes you like Katherine but it doesn't. It never could. You, Elena, singlehandedly saved my brother and I. You gave us something to live for. You gave us a reason to be better people. Falling in love with you was the best thing that ever happened to me and I am so incredibly grateful that you let me share a part of your life. And now I want nothing more than to take away the pain this choice is causing you. Let me do this for you because you have done everything else for me."

He stepped away from her and held up his hands, smirk firmly back in place. "Ok, I'm done now."

"Damon," Elena started but stopped when she realized she didn't know what to say. "I-" she stopped again, completely helpless.

Damon laughed. "Yeah, that was probably a lot to throw on your shoulders right now. Sorry. I just needed to get it off my chest before I chickened out and started begging."

Elena gave him a watery smile. "Don't you think begging is a little childish for someone of your age."

Damon threw back his head and laughed. "There she is! I knew fun Elena was still in there somewhere hidden behind monsoon-crying Elena. Now I just have 3 things I need you to do for me before I die."

"Just 3?" She asked through her tears.

"Well 4, actually. First, stop crying. I want to spend my last minutes with you being happy and smiling. Being my Elena. You can go back to brooding and doom and gloom with my baby bro. Right now we're on a time out. Just like in Georgia. Ok?" He asked peering into her eyes in the way only he could.

With more willpower than she thought she had, she stopped the tears and looked at him with a strength that only he knew she possessed. "Is that all you've got old man?" She challenged. If she was really going to let him go she was going to do it the way he wanted.

"Perfect. Now that wasn't so hard, was it?"

"Next?" She challenged

"Quit trying to rush me, woman! If I didn't know any better, I'd think you were trying to get rid of me sooner."

At that she broke down crying again. "Don't say that. Please don't say that."

"Hey, hey, hey. Stop. Stop. I was joking," he said soothingly, rubbing small circles on her back. "Maybe it was one of those 'too soon' type jokes."

She gave a teary laugh and pulled it together. _For Damon_, she reminded herself.

_For Damon. _

"Ok next?"

"I want a kiss. One last kiss to send me off."

They looked at each other until Elena said "Aaaand?"

"First things first" he puckered up and point at his lips.

"I assumed the rest of it was sexual so I figured you could list them now so we could power through without stopping" she said teasingly.

"Elena," he said pretending to be scandalized. "Do you think I think of nothing other than sex?" She raised her eyebrows skeptically. "Ok, ok, you're right. But with you around, who can blame me? Surprisingly, however, neither of my other two desires require you to do anything to my body. Unless you want to, of course." He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

"Ok next thing I want you to do for me" he paused for emphasis "tell me I'm bigger than Stefan."

Elena looked at him confused. Did he mean a bigger man for offering himself up to die? Or did he mean... And then she saw his smirk as he sensed her confusion and pointed to his pants.

"Only you," she laughed. "Only you would make that one of your dying requests."

"Well, they say that curiosity killed the cat... Or the vamp, as the case may be. So... Any response?"

Elena met his eyes before rolling her own. "Yes. You are bigger than Stefan. I'm sure you already knew that though."

"You're right. I did." He smirked. "I just wanted to hear you say it."

She started to reply before he held up a finger to her lips. She felt the energy in the room shift as the smirk dropped from his face and he stared at her. She knew his eyes were beautiful—hell, anyone with eyes knew that—and she knew his eyes could tell her what he was feeling better than any words ever could. She'd been reduced to a shattered mess from looking at them many times before. Never, however, had she seen them this intense and this beautiful. They were filled with pain—more pain than anyone should have to bear—and sadness, desperation, bitterness, even a little jealousy but the overwhelming emotion in them was love. If asked to describe it, she would never be able to say what exactly love looked like but looking into his eyes, she knew that was it.

"The last thing I need you to do, Elena, is a really selfish thing. For most of my life I've been more selfish than even I can comprehend so its no surprise I want to end my life the way I lived it," she opened her mouth to argue but he stopped her. "No let me finish. Dying man's prerogative and all that." He smirked at her. "My dying wish is that you take my ring and wear it every day. I know it's ugly and cumbersome but it's the only thing I have to give you. For as long as you live, as long as you wear that ring, I will love you even when I'm not here to tell you that. I want you to wear the ring as a reminder. Whenever anything bad happens or you doubt yourself for a moment, look down on that ring and know that I loved you so completely that it changed my life. Hopefully that will make you smile even when nothing else can."

About halfway through his speech the tears had started streaming down her face. They weren't the body-wracking sobs she expected to have in this situation but they were hot and full of emotion and more painful in their simplicity.

As always though, Damon would never let her wallow in her tears and said, "Come on! Is having to kiss me really bad enough to make you cry? I remember you doing it once or twice without flinching. Pucker up princess!"

And with that he brought his mouth to hers. It wasn't a great kiss. There were too many tears, too much snot, too many frantic motions for it to be considered a great kiss but all the same, the earth moved. Elena clung to him barely conscious with the amount of pain her heart was in. All she knew was Damon's lips on hers. They moved simply, never trying to deepen the kiss into something more. She just felt loved. Loved completely. Consumed.

"Enough of this heart break city," he said pulling away. "If I'm going to die today I'm going to make sure to take down Klaus before it happens.


	16. Chapter 16

Damon released Elena from his comforting arms and pulled out his phone.

"Bonnie? You ready to go?" he questioned.

"_Tyler was right. It really is weird hearing you use my real name!"_

Damon gave a chuckle before meeting Elena's questioning eyes.

_How on earth could he be laughing at a time like this? He's about to go up against the world's oldest, most deadly vampire and then he's going to die yet here he is laughing with my best friend—a friend he didn't even particularly like. Would I ever fully understand this man?_

The thought of getting to know Damon's complexities brought a smile to her face before the thought of what was to come made the smile drop completely. She would never get to understand his complexities. She'd never get to find out what made him tick. She'd never get to fight with him over the remote or where to go for dinner. She'd never have black-haired, blue-eyed kids bring her breakfast in bed on Mother's Day.

The thought made her unbearably sad and her mood plummeted as she thought of all that this strong, caring, lovable, _good_ man would miss out on because of her choice.

Lost in her dark thoughts, it took Damon shouting her name to get her attention. Her glazed eyes focused on him slowly and realized he and Bonnie had long since hung up the phone.

"What did you say?" she asked in confusion.

He smirked and threw his arm around her shoulder leading her towards the door. "What did I tell you about waiting until I'm dead before you start brooding? I said, 'Bonnie thinks it's a good idea if you get back to her house.' After all, you are our bait in this whole 'Kill Klaus for Good' plan."

"Oh, yeah. Sure," Elena said distractedly as she ran a hand through her hair.

"Are you… ok to drive? You seem a little out of it" Damon hesitatingly asked. He knew how much Elena hated being coddled but the 'dying so she could live a happy life' thing only worked if she actually _lived _and didn't crash in a ditch somewhere.

"Yeah. No, I'll be fine. Don't worry about me," she leaned up to kiss his cheek distractedly. "I'll see you soon."

She jumped in her car and drove to Bonnie's house as quickly as she could.

"We need to talk," she told the witch as she walked in the door.

* * *

"Eleeeennnaaa," Klaus sing-songed standing at Bonnie's door. "Come out, come out wherever you be. Take the cure and you'll soon be free."

"Free?" Elena scoffed, coming to the door. "Yeah, I'll be free. Minus when you come to me and drain me dry to make more damn hybrids."

"Well, what is freedom if not a relative thing?" Klaus teased. "Let me in and let's get this over with."

"Niklaus?" a surprised voice said from the street. "What are you doing here?"

"Ah Bekah, I was just having a lovely conversation with Miss Gilbert," he said nodding his head slightly to Elena. "What are you doing here?"

"I overheard the witch and one of the Salvatores at the grill. They seem to have gotten their hands on another White Oak stake which I'm sure one of them will be dumb enough to try to use against me. I figured I'd just go ahead and neutralize the threat now." Her shoulder shrug indicated that she could care less about killing anyone. "What are you doing here, Nik?"

"I was told they had found the cure and I wanted to be the first to congratulate Miss Gilbert on her newly found humanity," he said with an evil smirk.

"They found the cure?" Rebekah questioned desperately. "Why didn't anyone tell me? Nik, why didn't you tell me?"

"Relax, Bekah. I'm sure after Elena is cured we can look at having you get cured too," Klaus said unconcerned.

"What? You know how long I've wanted this! How could you put this filthy little blood bag in front of me? I'm your family but all you care about are your fucking hybrids!" she screamed in his face.

Klaus looked momentarily taken aback as Rebekah's sobs and shrieks gained in intensity. Under the camouflage of a particularly loud shriek, Damon rushed at Klaus and snapped his neck in the blink of an eye.

"God I've been waiting a long time to do that," he exclaimed happily as Bonnie rushed out of the house and knelt by Klaus's body muttering a few unintelligible words.

"Great job, Bex. That Oscar worthy performance almost made me forget that time your tortured me," Damon said sarcastically.

"Don't worry," Rebekah purred as she stroked Damon's chest, "I'll always look back on our time together fondly."

"That makes one of us," he quipped.

"Ok, that should do it," Bonnie said as she stood up and brushed the dirt off of her knees. "Normally snapping Klaus's neck would only take him down for a minute or two but I think I immobilized him for at least 10 more minutes."

"Good, just enough time to get us all where we need to be," Damon said as he hefted Klaus's deadweight over his shoulder.

* * *

Everyone they cared about, everyone that made up their crazy dysfunctional family, was gathered in a circle in the basement. Tyler stood against the wall with Caroline tucked securely in his arms. Matt stood, watching Rebekah covertly as she took her place on the ground. Jeremy followed Bonnie around like a puppy, trying to help her gather everything she needed. Elena stood frozen watching Damon and Stefan, unable to see how she could say goodbye to either.

Damon and Stefan stood staring at each other as though they were seeing each other for the first time. Though both brothers had threatened to kill each other on numerous occasions, they'd saved each other's lives more often. They had been the one constant for each other for almost two centuries and now they knew their time was coming to an end.

In the moment they looked into each other's eyes, every bad feeling between the two that had built up through 170 years, numerous physical battles, and even more painful psychological battles faded into nothingness. They were transported back to their youth when everything had been simple. Before Katherine when they had been human and had been each other's best friends.

"I'm sorry," Damon said simply.

"Me too. I love you, brother."

"I love you too." After standing in silence for a moment he pulled Stefan into a bear hug and whispered so quietly that no one else could hear, "Be good to her."

He pulled away and shook his head almost imperceptibly at the question in Stefan's eyes. Stefan looked as if he was about to speak when Bonnie interrupted gently.

"I know this is really hard for you guys but we should probably get going. Klaus is only going to be out for a few more minutes."

Damon looked at her quickly. "But I thought there was only enough for one of us?"

"There is," Bonnie said softly. "But Elena and I decided this was best. You can… pass without knowing you weren't chosen."

"Won't we know when… I don't know, one of us doesn't get a stake to the heart but the other one does?" Damon questioned with his usual tact.

Bonnie placed a rose petal on both Rebekah and Klaus's chest before holding up two more identical rose petals. "We grabbed another petal so you wouldn't know that you… weren't chosen. That way you could… pass… with," Bonnie seemed to struggle for words.

"Hope," Stefan finished. "We could pass with hope."

"Yeah," Elena said softly, stepping up between them.

"I'm so sorry," she cried. "I love you both so much and I'm so sorry. And it's all my fault. Everything that happened between the three of us. I just—"

Her words were cut off as Klaus gave a small twitch.

"I'm sorry, but we need to get going," Bonnie said gesturing for both Salvatores to lay on the ground.

"Just make sure you don't switch up those petals, witchy," Damon said with a smirk before looking over at Elena and giving her a wink.

The room became deadly quiet as Bonnie performed the ritual on Klaus. When she turned to Rebekah and thrust the stake through her heart, Matt flinched before saying, "This better work, Bonnie."

"It will," she said before turning to the brothers. She never thought she'd see the day when she'd be sad to see a vampire die but they were no longer just monsters in her eyes. They were friends, protectors, and good men.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. "Neither of you deserve this."

"It's alright, Bonnie. We know it wasn't your choice," Stefan said soothingly.

"Agreed. Now, my mother always taught me to let ladies go first so why don't you take care of Steffy right away," Damon said. Even though his tone was meant to be light and joking, everyone in the room could hear the tension and fear in his voice.

Bonnie looked at the two petals in her hand before looking at Elena questioningly. As silent tears streamed down her face, Elena nodded once and Bonnie plunged the stake through Stefan's heart.

Damon looked away with sorrow as he saw the brother he had loved to hate die before his very eyes. Bonnie moved to Damon and placed the petal on his chest.

A solitary tear fell from each eye as he saw Bonnie raise the stake above her head. If Damon had been the kind of man who believed in that sort of thing, he would have thought that one tear belonged to his brother and the other to his Elena. They completely owned his heart and he was doing whatever was necessary for them to find the happiness he wanted for them. Damon's eyes met Elena's across the room and brown and blue locked together.

In a flash, Bonnie brought the stake down straight through his body.


	17. Chapter 17

Damon came awake sharply. After the first few seconds of panic and confusion he smiled. He was lying on his bed as sunlight streamed in. He could feel a heart beat in his chest for the first time in almost two centuries. And Elena was curled up fast asleep next to him.

_Well, fuck,_ Damon thought. _Heaven's pretty awesome._ He immediately shook his head and realized maybe he should refrain from swearing in heaven.

Wait… was he in heaven? After all he had done, he didn't quite believe he'd end up there.

But then… what was Elena doing curled up next to him?

Maybe she was Katherine and he was actually in hell.

_Yes_, Damon decided. _I'm definitely in hell. If I'd known that going to hell would result in an eternity locked in a room with Katherine, maybe I would have made a few different life choices._

At that moment, the sleeping girl woke groggily from her sleep. As she looked at Damon a genuine, pure, earth-shatteringly beautiful smile crept onto her face leaving Damon with no doubt that it was Elena in front of him.

_But how?_

"Damon!" Elena shrieked before launching herself at him. "You're awake!" She began showering his face with kiss and clinging desperately to his back, trying to draw herself even closer to him.

"Where the fuck am I?" Damon asked as Elena pulled back.

"You're in your room. With me. In Mystic Falls," Elena said almost hesitatingly.

Damon's face lit up and he jumped up from the bed. "Bonnie figured out a way to save us both?"

Elena's eyes dropped and tears began to fall.

Damon's smile faltered before disappearing completely. "Elena. Where's Stefan?"

Elena looked up through her tears. Damon could see sadness, guilt, and a hint of defiance written on her face. "I could only save one," she said simply.

"WHAT?" Damon roared. "Why would—How could—I didn't—Stefan—" Damon seemed so incensed that he couldn't string a sentence together. "I made the decision for you… for him! To give you a better life. Why couldn't you, for once in your life, listen to me?"

Elena walked over to Damon and grabbed his face firmly in her hands. He tried to pull his face away but she held tighter and looked at him with fierce determination.

"I'm sorry, Damon. I'm so incredibly sorry. Losing Stefan was the hardest thing I've ever had to do. And I'm so sorry that you had to lose him too. We will spend the rest of our lives missing him and wishing he were here. But I _will not_ apologize for choosing you. I will never apologize for that. As much as it hurts to lose Stefan, it would hurt even more to lose you. Do you see that?" Her voice rose with determination. "We couldn't lose each other!"

Damon stood there looking broken and confused. "What does this mean, Elena? What does this mean for _us_?"

"It means we are going to have the rest of our lives to fight with each other. To drive each other insane. To hurt each other more than we ever thought possible." Her grip on Damon's face never weakened for an instant. "But it also means we are going to get to live for each other every day. Show our love for each other. Grow and die as humans… Together." She took a deep breath before continuing. "It means that I choose a love that consumes me. I choose a love that has always been so real and so strong that it overwhelms me. I choose beautiful blue eyes that are filled with nothing but love for me. I choose you, Damon. I choose you for forever and always."

Damon simply stared at Elena for what felt like minutes. Slowly a smirk crept onto his face. "It's because of my irresistible body, isn't it?"

"Damon—" Elena began, rolling her eyes.

"Ssshhhh," Damon ordered. "That's enough talking for now." He lowered his head down to her and captured her lips in a searing kiss. Kissing Damon had always been _more_ than just kissing to Elena. She didn't know how he did it but his kisses always held a meaning and a truth. It wasn't the act of lips working against each other or tongues making complex motions. It was, simply put, the most pure way of Damon showing his feeling for her.

This kiss left all others behind. There wasn't just passion, although there was more passion than she had ever felt before. There wasn't just sadness, although there has probably never been a kiss more filled with it. There wasn't just love, although there has probably never been a kiss more filled with that either. The kiss was simply everything.

Every heartbreak and every joy either had ever felt was reflected in the kiss. It was overwhelming and comforting at the same time. Just like being with Damon had always been. It was home.

After what like hours, or possibly days, Damon pulled away from her.

"You know, I'm still mad at you for not saving Stefan."

"I know," Elena said simply.

A comfortable yet sad silence hung between them until Damon smirked again.

"But maybe, once I forgive you, we can have make up sex."

Elena laughed. "It's nice to see that becoming human again didn't effect your personality too much. You're still the same man I fell in love with."

"That's weird because you're a completely different person now. I think I want out of this relationship now," Damon said mockingly and started to walk away.

"Way to ruin the moment, Salvatore," Elena joked.

Damon rushed back to her, wrapped her securely in his arms, and looked at her seriously. "I love you, Elena. I have always loved you and I will always love you. I cannot wait to spend the rest of my life showing you just how much."

Elena was stunned by the simple honesty of his words. She wrapped her arms around his neck and responded, "I love you too."

"How much?" Damon asked.

"Almost as much as I love your irresistible body," she said with a twinkle in her eye.

"You must love me something fierce then," Damon said with a laugh before he bent down to kiss her again. He pulled away to look at her and in that second she saw sheer vulnerability in his eyes. "Can I ask—" he halted as though looking for the right words. "Why me?"

She took a deep breath and cradled a hand gently against his cheek. "When he had his two hours to show me I should pick him, he took me to all of the places that meant something to us in the past but it didn't feel right for me in the present. And it definitely didn't feel right for the future. Everything he showed me that was supposedly about him and I only reminded me of you and me. Of us."

"Us?" Damon said weakly.

"He picked me up and carried me bridal style and all I could think about was that it wasn't right because they weren't your arms holding me. He took me to the school because that's where we met and first connected but all I could think about was that was the place he shut off his humanity and attacked me. But it was also the place you and I danced where you made me laugh even though I was scared out of my mind about Klaus. He took me to the cemetery because that's where we met again but all I could think about were the number of graves in that place filled with the people I know and love. And the fact that when I was burying Jenna and John, I sought out your eyes above anyone else's. He took me to the falls because that's where we talked at the party but all I could think about was the sacrifice that claimed my life for the first time in the nearby woods and the fact that when I woke up, it was your eyes that I saw. He took me to his bedroom because that's where we first made love but all I could think about was the betrayal I felt when I saw Katherine's picture and the fact that the next 48 hours were some of the best of my life because I got to know the real you on our trip to Georgia. He took me to the top of the falls to remind me of the day when I told him I never wanted to be a vampire but all I could think about was that I had that life and I had survived it, mainly because of you."

She paused to gauge Damon's reaction but his normally expressive eyes were unreadable. "Stefan kept saying we could go back but I don't want to go back. I want to go forward… with you."

Elena finally finished her speech and waited for Damon to say something—anything. After the longest 10 seconds of her life, his face broke open into the most beautiful, pure smile she had ever seen before he grabbed her face and placed the gentlest kiss she'd ever felt upon her lips. "Let's go see how the others are doing."

* * *

The bodies of Stefan and Klaus (who Damon officially killed after he was made human again) had been taken care of and life in Mystic Falls settled down into an almost eerie calm. Bonnie was still a witch and Tyler was still a werewolf but the supernatural world that had taken up so much of their lives for the past few years was a thing of the past.

While the rest of the senior class complained about the stress of picking colleges and finishing out the year, Elena and her friends reveled in the fact that these were now the most stressful parts of their day. Instead of worrying about which supernatural creature would try to kill someone at prom, Elena could worry about which dress she wanted to wear (she went with a blue one that looked suspiciously like the color of a certain someone's eyes). Instead of researching various myths looking for a loophole that would save everyone's life, she spent time being quizzed by her boyfriend for her upcoming finals (they of course studied by Damon's rules: anytime she got a question right, he removed a piece of clothing while anytime she got a question wrong, she removed one). Instead of her friends worrying that she'd been kidnapped or killed anytime she didn't answer her phone, they assumed she was "busy" with her boyfriend (who's sex drive did not diminish with the return of his humanity).

Their lives, which had been so filled with loss and uncertainty were now filled with joy and acceptance as their awkward little family embraced their second chance. Matt and Rebekah finally took the plunge and acted on their mutual attraction for each other creating what Damon called "the most frightening functional dysfunctional clusterfuck of a relationship" he had ever seen. As for Bonnie and Jeremy, Damon said "I've never met two people more fucked up than those two. Good thing they have each other because sure as fuck no one else would want to deal with them." Damon was surprisingly supportive of Caroline and Tyler even though he maintained that "Blondie can do better than that rabid, flea-bitten, mangy mutt." When Elena pointed out that this sounded suspiciously like he cared about Caroline he simply responded that he didn't want her to "regress to the vapid slut" she used to be which earned him a sharp elbow to the ribs.

As for Damon and Elena, it wasn't perfect or easy but neither of them would want it to be. They'd been through too much together for their love to be anything other than complicated and messy. They fought long and hard about anything and everything, both secretly basking in the knowledge that they were lucky to even be alive to fight with each other. Plus, the make-up sex was great.

Damon took weekly pilgrimages to Stefan's grave where he would sit for hours and talk to his brother the way he should have when he was alive. His biggest regret was wasting all the extra time they had been given by arguing with his brother rather than taking advantage of it and he told his brother this every week.

Sitting beside Stefan's grave was where Elena found him. She sat next to him and took his hand in hers.

"You've been gone for a long time. I was starting to get worried."

"Stef and I had a lot to talk about," Damon said, not turning his eyes away from the headstone. "Were you worried I'd been kidnapped by some big bad vampire?" he asked with a slight smirk.

"Yeah, well, old habits die hard. I mean, how many times did I have to save your ass?" Elena asked smirking back at him.

"Oh really?" Damon challenged. "Do you really want to get into a battle of who saved who more? Because we both know who will win."

"Bring it on!" Elena said mocking him with her eyes.

"Little girl, don't start something you can't finish," Damon smirked as he got up and held out his hand to help Elena.

"Oh I'm shaking in my boots! This big, bad former vampire is so terrifying… Not!" She teased as she got into the car. "You can argue all you want but you're pretty much a teddy bear now, Damon."

"I'm gonna make you pay for that," Damon warned, pulling the car smoothly out of the cemetery but turning in the opposite direction of the boarding house.

"Where are we going?" Elena questioned, loosing the thread of their teasing discussion in her confusion.

"Drug store," Damon said looking over at her with a lecherous smile on his face. "Now that I'm fertile again, I don't want to knock up my woman."

"You sure know the way to a woman's heart," Elena said with an exaggerated eye roll.

"I may not know the way to a woman's heart but I sure know the way to a woman's pants," he winked before reaching over with one hand to undo the button on her jeans.

As he gently stroked her, her cheeks flushed and her breath caught in her throat. "Yeah," she said weakly, "I think stopping at the drug store sounds like a really good idea."

"A woman after my own heart," Damon laughed, reaching over quickly to kiss her before turning back to look at the road.

Elena laced her fingers through his and smiled. She knew now just like she had known since Bonnie asked her to make a choice and every day since that there could only ever be one man for her


End file.
